Fallen Angels
by Ootori Tatsu
Summary: They used to be friends. They were almost lovers. Now Prowl has the chance to win back what he thought was lost. How far will they go to stick together - to truly be as they were? ADOPTED FROM SHADOWBLADE-TARA
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Welcome back old readers of Shadowblade-tara and greetings new readers. I read this story, instantly loved it, and asked to pick it up. Hopefully I meet all your expectations and don't fail to impress.

**Fallen Angel**

**part 1**

"Fix him."

"No."

A sigh. "Ratchet, it's a patch job for now. Just don't let him –"

"I said no!"

" – bleed out before we can figure out what to do with him."

Caustic laughter. "How about shoot him in the helm?"

He onlined his optics. The Autobot med bay came into focus – or at least, the ceiling did. He recognized Prime and Ratchet's voices immediately, discussing his future. He couldn't seem to get his processor going – couldn't focus on anything other than the ceiling and the voices. What was going on with him? There were no error messages coming from his systems, but judging from the voices, he was pretty slagged up.

His wings were numb.

The doors hissed open, and two new mechs entered. He tried to turn his head to see who it was, but nothing responded. With an internal sigh, he shuttered his optics. Let the newcomers think he was still out. Maybe he could actually learn something – like why he was paralyzed when he couldn't remember what could have caused it.

"Boss, Megatron's called retreat." Definitely Jazz. "Looks like they ain't comin' back fer him."

No, of course not.

Jazz's voice continued. "So, what're we gonna do with him?" he asked, sounding a bit confused. "Can't jus' let him bleed out, can we?"

"That's exactly what I want to do." Ratchet growled.

"That wouldn't be right." another voice said, and he felt his energon freeze. It couldn't be – why would he be in here now?

Ratchet exploded. "This is _Starscream_, in case you've forgotten!" he snarled. "The same Decepticon that tried to kill you not three weeks ago? You telling me we should just forget about that and make peace with him?"

Starscream could almost hear Prowl's frown as he spoke. "One: Starscream was not trying to kill me. I told you that already. Two: We are Autobots. Peace is what we are striving for. If that means playing nice with someone on the off-chance that they'll play nice back, I'm willing to take that risk." he said firmly. With every word, his voice got closer.

His wings tried to twitch.

Prowl was leaning over him, but Starscream refused to online his optics. He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, then it was gone. "Ratchet, I'm requesting that you fix him. He's not beyond repair." Prowl said quietly.

Ratchet sighed. "Oh, all right. But if he ups and kills us all – "

"Then you can blame me." came the dry response.

Prowl walked away.

Starscream slept.

/-/

Jazz frowned as he studied Prowl. They were back in the SIC's quarters, Prowl pacing while Jazz sat on the berth. "What's got yer wirin' in a bunch, Prowler?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. "Ain' like Screamer's gonna up an' kill us all or somethin' no matter how much the Hatchet wants him ta."

Prowl hesitated a moment before continuing his pacing. "I know."

"So what's eatin' ya?" Jazz demanded. "C'mon, I'm yer pal, ain't I? Let me help ya."

Prowl sighed but continued to pace. "Did you see his wings?"

"Yeah. Yer point?"

"I doubt he can feel them. Probably a mercy, all things considered." Prowl mused, still basically ignoring Jazz. "They should heal fine on their own, but until then, he's going to be jumpy. No Seeker likes being grounded."

"Oi!" Jazz snapped, drawing Prowl's attention abruptly back to him. "What's this about? It's Screamer we're talkin' about!"

Prowl sighed and sat down on the berth beside Jazz. "No. It's Star."

Jazz's visor flashed. "Star? Yer friend from the Academy Star?"

Prowl nodded. "My only friend at the Academy." he murmured.

Jazz hesitated, then wrapped Prowl in a warm embrace. He didn't say a word to Prowl – he couldn't. Prowl had told him so many stories about his friend Star – good stories; Star had been the kind of friend Jazz had always tried to be to everyone, and to find that someone could attach themselves so easily to Prowl made Jazz like this Star even more. He had always had the impression that Star had died when the Academy had fallen in the beginning of the war.

Well, in a sense, he must have – Starscream was nothing like this mysterious friend of Prowl's.

A small sigh escaped him. Ratchet would fix Starscream, but it was going to be up to Jazz to make sure the slagger didn't try to kill them all.

He wasn't sure Prowl could be trusted to do it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fallen Angel**

**Academy**

Prowl hated crowds with a passion. Doorwings tended to be hypersensitive, after all. They provided Prowl with an array of useful information about the world around him – proximity, temperature, even a small, amateur threat assessment. On the other hand, if there was too much input, it became painful. Right now, it was downright annoying, but not quite on the level of pain. Yet.

"Hey."

Prowl turned around. "Hello." he said quietly, studying the mech standing now beside him. He was a flier, his wings just a bit larger than Prowl's doorwings, with a tricolored paint job. The Seeker closed the distance between them with a few steps. Prowl had to fight back the urge to take a step back. The Seeker smiled.

"I haven't seen you around before." he said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Prowl – I'm new here." Prowl said hesitantly. "Who are you?"

"Starscream." He extended his hand, and Prowl accepted the offered handshake. "You looked like you were lost." Starscream explained. "This place is fragging huge, so I figured I'd lend a hand."

Prowl merely stared at him. "Why do you care?"

Starscream tilted his helm to the side, a slight smirk crossing his features. "Because it sucks being lost, especially with wings? I don't know how sensitive doorwings are, but my wings are a pain in the aft in crowds. All the grounders get the bright idea to try and touch them, and trust me – none of them are gentle."

Prowl nodded. "My doorwings are about as bad." he admitted. "I have no idea if that's normal or not. Neither of my creators have doorwings."

Starscream frowned. "Huh. That's odd. Usually mechs try to model their sparklings after themselves – or so I've heard, anyway. So where you headed?"

"Science wing." Prowl said, recognizing a dropped topic when he heard one. "I have a chemistry class in a few minutes."

Starscream brightened considerably. "Sideways your teacher by any chance?"

"Yes."

"Awesome! That means you're in my class!"

Prowl gave him a look. "You just met me, and you're already that enthusiastic about it?" he asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

Starscream laughed. "Trust me – I'm not that fond of you yet. I just have a stalker already, and I figured you would be an excellent means of deterring him." He smirked. "Feel used yet?"

"At least it's for a worthy cause." Prowl shot back, his smile morphing into a full-fledged grin. Starscream burst out laughing.

"A sense of humor! Primus loves me indeed." Starscream's smile turned feral. "You and me, Prowl – we're going places."

Prowl just laughed and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Starscream."

/-/

The Academy divided up its students four to a room. Prowl hadn't bothered to check to see who his roommates would be before he arrived at the Academy. The way he figured it, he was capable of tolerating just about anybody, and it wasn't like he had friends in Iacon anyway. He pushed open the door to his room and stopped cold, doorwings twitching.

How the slag did he wind up with three Seekers as his roommates?

"Prowl!" Starscream walked up to him with a sly grin. "Hope you don't mind the odd arrangements – I saw how Sentinel planned on arranging things."

"You actually wanted me as a roommate?" Prowl asked with a slight frown.

The purple and black Seeker laughed. "Nah. Screamer here just doesn't want Skyfire as his roommate." he cackled. "I'm Skywarp, by the way – but everyone calls me Warp. You can too, if you want. This here's Thundercracker, but we call him TC." He pointed at the other Seeker, a blue and black mech, who was currently perched on his berth with a datapad in hand. Thundercracker waved at Prowl without ever looking up. Prowl waved back, unsure.

"Are you brothers?" he asked.

"Trine mates, actually." Starscream explained. "Might as well call us brothers – we grew up together and everything. So, you have a berth preference?"

"Not really."

"Good, cuz I think we commandeered the good ones." Starscream smirked, and Prowl couldn't help but laugh. "Welcome to the group, Prowl. Hopefully you don't mind hanging on for the ride."

Prowl shook his head, grinning like a fool. "Not a chance."


	3. Chapter 3

**Fallen Angels**

**part 2**

"I've been given the duty of interrogating you."

He snorted. "Interrogate me? What can you possibly threaten me with? My wings are gone."

Prowl took a deep breath. The med bay was completely empty. Starscream was sitting up on his berth, now fully awake for the first time in three days. His body had healed – his wings were little more than a mangled mess. Ratchet was busy trying to fix the major damage, but the smaller wiring problems would have to wait on Starscream's self-repair systems to pick up the slack. There was the good chance Starscream would never fly again.

"I know." Prowl said quietly.

Starscream glared at him. "I won't betray the Decepticons to the likes of _you_, Auto-brat." he snarled. "Don't even think about it!"

"I wouldn't dream of such." Prowl said blandly. "You're loyal to the point of blindness. However, you did enter our airspace during the battle, already damaged beyond anything we could possibly do to you, and now Prime wants to know why."

"And you're blindly loyal to Prime." Starscream spat out. "So why should I tell you anything?"

Prowl sighed. "I know what happened to you." he said, still keeping his monotonous tone. It was safer that way, for the time being. "I don't know what you did to frag Megatron off, or if you did anything at all, but whatever it was, he did a number on you this time. You'll be staying here for a while under my protection until you can fly again. The least you can do is be polite."

Starscream scowled. "I will not tell you what I did not do."

Prowl tilted his helm as he absorbed that odd sentence. He nodded. "Fair enough. Will you answer one question for me, though?"

Starscream looked away. "Depends."

"Where are Thundercracker and Skywarp?"

Starscream laughed hollowly. "Where else do you think? If I'm blind, then they're deaf and dumb, too." He refused to look back up at Prowl, and Prowl did not push the matter. Instead, he merely turned around and returned to his post outside of the med bay.

Optimus was standing there waiting for him. "He won't talk to you?"

"I didn't expect him to, Prime." Prowl said dully. "He's hurting too much to talk to anyone right now."

"How would you know that?"

Prowl didn't hesitate. "Most of my friends from the Academy were fliers. Trust me when I say – grounding them is the absolute worst thing you can do to them. When Megatron broke Starscream's wings, he might as well have broken_Starscream_." Which was only partially true, but Prowl wasn't going to say that, either. His little lie had helped him out well in the past years. The last thing he needed to do was put both himself and Starscream in unnecessary danger.

It wasn't what Megatron had done to Starscream that had broken him, although Prowl suspected it was a big part of it – rather, it was the fact that Thundercracker and Skywarp had stood by and let it happen.

Optimus nodded. "I don't suppose he's a threat?"

"Not unless someone makes him one." Prowl commented. "I doubt he'll leave the med bay until Ratchet kicks him out."

Optimus chuckled at that. "That could be very soon. Ratchet is getting tired of his permanent guest."

Prowl snorted. "Ratchet gets tired of any guest that isn't Wheeljack, and he's been known to throw _him_ out on his aft every now and again."

"True." Optimus abruptly turned serious. "I am worried about what to do with him afterwards, though. He will be unable to leave the Ark for quite some time, and no one is going to want him just wandering around."

"I already told him he'd be under my protection, sir." Prowl pointed out. "I will take responsibility for him."

"You have enough to do already."

"And yet, here I am playing guard." Prowl said with a small amount of amusement. "Do not worry about it. I highly doubt looking after Starscream will become such a chore that my usual duties will go neglected."

"I doubt that as well." Optimus said dryly. "Very well then, Prowl. When Ratchet gets tired of him, he's your responsibility."

"Thank you, sir."

Starscream listened in from the med bay, a small but honest smile on his face. It was gone before anyone could notice.

He had wondered before if anyone had known about his previous friendship with Prowl. Now he knew. No one had made the connection, which was rather odd – after all, the Autobots were supposed to be rather intelligent, and the mere fact that Prowl was still alive should say something about Starscream's intentions.

After all, Prowl had been good to Starscream. He didn't forget things like that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fallen Angel**

**Academy**

In Starscream's opinion, Prowl was the best roommate a Seeker could have. Warp and TC didn't count – they were his trine mates, after all. Prowl, who was neither related to him nor wished to be related to him at the moment, seemed to be perfect. He was quiet, respected the need for silence while studying, and didn't seem to share Warp's inclination to prank his other roommates.

He figured out that part of his assessment was wrong when he walked into his room to find Prowl alone and _humming_. He paused at the door, knowing that any further movement would alert Prowl to his presence and make the noise cease. He wasn't sure he wanted Prowl to stop. It wasn't like there were words or anything. Just a little tune that was more beautiful than any sound chip Starscream had ever heard.

Prowl was laying on his stomach, arms propping him up so he could study a datapad, doorwings relaxed. He stopped humming, frowned to himself, and made an adjustment to the datapad. Then he resumed his humming.

Finally, Starscream couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, walking in to stand by Prowl's shoulder. The doorwinger made no attempt to hide his work from him. "Are you _composing?"_

"Not really." Prowl said with a grimace, saving his work and setting the datapad aside. "Composing implies a certain degree of talent. I'm just good at mixing."

Starscream blinked. "Like a DJ or something."

"Something like it." Prowl agreed.

Starscream said nothing for a moment. "Well if you _mix_ half as good as you hum – "

"That was good?"

"In my oh-so-humble opinion, yes." Starscream smirked.

Prowl laughed at that. "You have a humble opinion?" he teased.

Starscream took a bow before seating himself on Warp's bunk – he didn't feel like climbing up to his, which was situated above Prowl's. Besides, he wanted to look at Prowl while he was talking to him. "You know, there's a party going on in the rec room this instant." he said.

Prowl nodded, never looking away from him. "I know."

"Why don't you go? There's not that many mechs there."

Prowl had to hide his smile. "I wasn't invited."

Starscream gave him a disbelieving look. "I fail to understand how a mech like you gets snubbed at a grounder party." he said. "Now, if it was hosted by a flier, then yeah, cuz fliers are snobs that way, but not with a grounder."

Prowl chuckled. "If it had been a flier, I might have been invited." he said easily. "If only because I'm friends with you and TC and Warp."

"So why not with a grounder?"

Prowl sighed and rolled over on his berth, staring at the underside of the berth on top of his. "I don't know the right mechs, I guess." he said with a half-shrug. "No big deal."

Starscream frowned. "Prowl – do you hang out with anyone that I haven't introduced you to?"

"No."

"Why? Your social skills can't be that pathetic."

Prowl gave him a dry look. "You don't think I've tried?" he pointed out. "I am by nature a shy mech, and past experiences have made me wary of others intentions. In fact, your trine are the only ones who have proved my expectations wrong."

Starscream took a moment to puzzle that out. Red optics flashed. "You were bullied." he said flatly.

Prowl shrugged. "A lot."

"Did anyone know?"

"My creators did, to a degree. They didn't really do anything about it, though." Prowl resumed staring up, as if there was something fascinating about the underside of Starscream's berth. "My creators were foster parents. They didn't really care much, since they were getting paid to keep me. Still, I had been hoping for a family."

Starscream hesitated. "My home life pretty much sucked too." he said, wings twitching.

Prowl glanced at him. "Were you an orphan as well?"

"No, but – listen, don't tell anyone this, not even TC and Warp. They don't know, okay? I told them my creators died, and that's how I wound up in the youth center with them, but that's not true."

"Your secret's safe with me." Prowl said solemnly.

Starscream took a deep breath. "Okay. See, the thing is, my sparker was abusive. Smacked me and my carrier around a lot. Until one day, I get hit worse than normal. My sparker almost strangled me – hence why my vocal processors are screwed up, see? So my carrier decides enough is enough. Took me away late one night, but instead of finding a safe place for both of us, I get left at the youth center."

Prowl stared at Starscream a moment. "So while I suffered emotional neglect, you suffered physical abuse." he said calmly. "It would seem your situation was worse."

"Not really. At least my carrier cared enough to get me out, even if she couldn't take care of me herself." Starscream said. "You were abandoned without ever being left."

Silence descended upon them. Starscream sighed and leaned back, watching Prowl with a whole new respect. That explained a lot about the reclusive mech, actually. His shyness was as much a defense mechanism as Starscream's belligerent arrogance. And while watching Prowl simply lay there, knowing he was as alone as Starscream himself felt, he came to a decision.

"You won't be neglected again."

Prowl gave him a look. "How do you figure that?"

"I won't let you." Starscream lifted his chin. "I'm your friend now, right? Well, I don't leave my friends high and dry. I don't abandon them. So you're safe with me."

Prowl smiled. "And I won't let you get hurt again." he said solemnly. "You have my word."

Starscream couldn't quite stop himself. "How?"

Prowl smirked and resumed staring at the ceiling. "Warp isn't the only one who's good at revenge pranks." he commented.

Starscream laughed. "Epic, Prowl."


	5. Chapter 5

**Fallen Angels**

**part 3**

"C'mon, Prowler!" Jazz was practically whining, and it was all Starscream could do not to shut off his audios. Or better yet, cover them with his hands. It would put on more of a display, at any rate. "Ya know ya wanna!"

"Jazz, how many times must I tell you that I don't attend parties?" Prowl asked, never looking up from his desk. "I have work to do."

Jazz snorted. "Nothin' that can't wait until tomorrow. Ya jus' don' wanna leave Screamer alone."

"Would you, considering that the minis have already made threats against him?" Prowl asked blandly.

"The minis ain' gonna try nothin'!" Jazz protested. "C'mon, live a little, Prowler! How c'n anyone like ya if ya never socialize with them?"

Prowl froze. "Jazz, please leave."

Jazz scowled, but he knew better than to push it when Prowl used that voice. Somehow, he had managed to cross the line between pestering and annoying, and he wasn't sure how. So he simply forced a smile and snapped a salute. "Yes, sir! But ya know, ya can't avoid me forever. I'm ninja that way." He nodded in satisfaction and walked off.

From the other side of the room, sitting in a chair Prowl had added to his office for just this purpose, Starscream snorted. "He's _ninja_ that way?" he demanded. "What is _ninja_?"

"If you figure it out, let me know." Prowl said dryly. "Jazz is about as bad as Warp was, coming up with strange sayings."

Starscream snorted. "Still is, actually. He never stopped. Drives me and TC crazy."

Prowl smiled. "Nice to know some things don't change." he commented.

"More than just some things." Starscream said pointedly. "Still don't socialize, do you?" Prowl didn't bother acknowledging that one. Starscream sighed. "Shy by nature, I know, but still – I thought you were overcoming that in the Academy. Or was I blind then too?"

"No. You weren't blind about that." Prowl admitted quietly.

"Then what happened?" Starscream demanded, throwing his hands out in a helpless guesture.

Prowl finally looked back up at him. "The same thing that happened to you, no doubt." he said, motioning at Starscream's wings. They had been completely remodeled, but Prowl could still see faint weld marks across the otherwise smooth metal. They also still refused to move – the wiring hadn't fixed itself yet. He smiled wryly. "We swore to protect each other, didn't we?"

This time, Starscream was the one to look away. "We did more than swear." he admitted.

Prowl nodded. "We both failed."

Silence descended on them. Starscream refused to look up; he couldn't even speak. Since his 'release' from the med bay, he had not left Prowl's side, and this was the most they had spoken to each other at any given time. It was a far cry from the Academy, when they struck up random conversations with hardly a thought.

So much had changed, and yet, nothing had changed at all.

Not the important things, the things that _needed_ to change. Nothing had changed for either of them.

Starscream chuckled. "It never stops, does it?"

Prowl hesitated a moment before nodding. "I lost my reason to make it stop a long time ago." he admitted, making another adjustment on the datapad.

Starscream didn't want to contemplate that. He wasn't supposed to be that important. He had never been that important to his creators, or to Megatron despite being SIC, and now he doubted he was even remotely important to his trine mates. He didn't know what to do with that bit of information. So he did what he did best.

"Are you actually doing reports, or just mixing?" he asked, tilting his helm to the side.

Prowl chuckled but went with it. "Mixing." he admitted. "I actually don't have half as much paperwork as Jazz thinks I do."

Starscream laughed outright at that. "Sneaky, Prowl. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a bit of 'Con in you."

Prowl grinned at him. "I'd have to to put up with you all this time." he shot back. "Get over here and look – I know you want to." Starscream grinned and joined him at his desk.

The tension was still there. Nothing had been solved, not yet, but at least now Starscream didn't feel like he was suffocating on silence. It was a small step in the right direction.

Outside Prowl's office, Jazz listened in with a small frown on his face. He hesitated a moment, then walked away.

It didn't take long for Blaster to catch up with him. "So, whaddya learn?" he demanded. "I mean, do we need to go kick Screamer's aft or something?"

"No." Jazz assured him. "Screamer ain't gonna try anything. Not yet, at any rate."

"Okay – so what? You got this look on yer face like yer not sure what to do."

"'m not." Jazz admitted. They found themselves in Jazz's quarters, one of the few places where there were no security cameras – and consequently, no other mechs. "Look, did Prowl ever talk ta ya about another mech named Star? From the Academy?"

Blaster frowned. "No. Sorry Jazz, but I don't know Prowl as well as you do." he said.

Jazz nodded. "Kay. See, Prowler's told me a lot about this Star. How they met, that they were roommates in the Academy, yadda yadda yadda." He waved with his hand, eliciting a small smirk from Blaster. Jazz grinned and continued. "An' I thought, here's this great mech, cuz he got Prowler ta open up. He showed Prowler what he could really be. An' I wanted ta meet him."

Blaster nodded. "I'm sensing a but here."

"Screamer's 'Star'."

Blaster blinked. "Say _what_?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Right now, nothin'. But I'm gonna need yer help, Blaster." Jazz started pacing. "If Prowl can git Screamer back on the good side, I want him ta do it. I want him ta have that chance, ya know? But I'm gonna need someone ta help me keep an optic out on both of 'em. Not that I don' trust Prowler, but – "

"You don't trust Screamer." Blaster said flatly. "Can't say I blame you there."

Jazz nodded. "Got it in one. So." He took a deep breath, visor flashing. "Will ya help me?"

Blaster nodded. "You know I will. For the record though, I don't think this is going to work. Screamer's a 'Con, through and through."

"Maybe." Jazz mused. "But I'd like ta find out before we kill 'im." _And possibly destroy Prowl in the process._


	6. Chapter 6

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

TC and Warp were troublemakers. If there was anything going down – a fight, a prank, anything – they were usually in the middle of it. Sometimes others got involved. Screamer always wound up playing lookout for their pranks, and Dirge and Thrust usually got in on the fights. However, this time they had no clue anything was going on until they came across the large crowd – and the fight dead center. They exchanged looks.

"Wanna check it out?" Warp asked.

TC shrugged. "Why not? Not like anyone can bust us for it." he said. Warp nodded, and they forced their way to the front of the crowd. They stopped cold.

"Stop it!" Screamer shouted, his voice even rougher than normal. This had been going on for a while. "Leave him alone!" He gave the mech in question a hearty shove, making him stagger back several paces.

Starscream was standing in between Hot Rod, a new student at the Academy whose arrogance could outdo Starscream's, and Prowl, who was slowly pushing himself to his feet. Hot Rod sneered at Starscream.

"The little freak won't talk." he snapped. "See? He ain't even talking now. Come on, freak – say something!" He stepped forward, and this time Starscream slugged him in the abdomen, denting the metal. Hot Rod doubled over as his fuel tanks took the brunt of the hit.

"I said," Screamer hissed, "leave him alone. I wouldn't want to talk to you either, jerk."

Hot Rod snarled something foul-sounding and made to charge Starscream again. In a flash, Warp and TC were right beside him, guarding their trine leader and their friend. Hot Rod backpedaled quickly. "You're all freaks." he hissed.

Warp took a bow. "Thank you! We'll be here until graduation!" he teased. TC snickered. Starscream rolled his optics and turned his attention to Prowl, satisfied that the situation had been reduced to name-calling. TC and Warp could handle that.

"You okay?" he asked, looking Prowl over. He was dented in more places than Screamer cared to count, but nothing looked horribly serious. Prowl nodded, not looking at him. Starscream frowned. "Come on, Prowl, you can talk to me. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know." Prowl murmured. "I'm fine, Star. Honest."

Starscream scoffed. "Come on – let's get back to our room." he said gently. "We'll help you get the dents out. That can't be comfortable."

"It's not." Prowl admitted.

Hot Rod sneered. "Oh, so now you talk? How sweet – the little freak does have friends! Tell me, Screamer – how much is he paying you to stick around? Seriously, we want to know."

"Don't make me hit you again." Starscream warned.

TC nodded. "You really should shut up while you have the chance, otherwise we'll be forced to pound on you. And we're pretty fresh – it would hurt."

Warp scowled and pointed at Hot Rod. "Touch Prowl again, and all three of us will rip your arms off and beat you with them." he threatened.

Prowl chuckled. "That's effective, Warp."

Warp continued to glower at Hot Rod. "It's the honest to Primus truth." he muttered.

Hot Rod just scoffed at them. "Whatever." he muttered. But he turned and walked away. Starscream breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fragging grounder." he muttered darkly, turning his attention back to Prowl. "Come on – let's get out of here."

"We're right behind you." TC said cheerfully. He smiled at the gathered crowd, which had gotten a bit smaller when it became obvious the fight wasn't going to get any better. "Unless anyone else wants to take us on?" The rest of the crowd left. TC nodded. "Good choice."

Starscream chuckled as they lead Prowl back to their quarters. Prowl was silent most of the way there, despite Warp's attempts at conversation. Starscream kept glancing at him, but Prowl refused to look back, keeping his optics straight ahead. A small sigh escaped him, but he didn't say anything. Now wasn't the time.

Prowl sat still and tolerated the Seekers' attentions as they fixed the dents Hot Rod had left. Starscream then slid behind him, sheltering his doorwings like he would any other Seeker, while TC and Warp cuddled up on either side of him. Prowl smiled and shifted closer to them, accepting the warmth and comfort.

"I think I just got adopted." he said suddenly.

Starscream laughed. "Dang straight you did. You're part of our trine now."

Warp nodded. "Yep. Ain't no one gonna touch you without our permission." he added.

"Not that we would give it." TC teased.

Prowl just chuckled and shuttered his optics, content. "Thanks, guys."

They waited until Prowl had fallen completely into recharge before moving to Warp's bunk. Prowl curled into his thermal blanket without waking. Starscream turned to the others. "Are we seriously going to adopt him into the trine?" he asked quietly.

TC shrugged. "Why not? It would be cool, having him belong to us."

Warp nodded. "Then Hot Rod really wouldn't be able to touch him again." he muttered. "No one would, not once we made it public."

Starscream nodded. "I was thinking the same thing myself." he said. He glanced over at Prowl again, and Warp smirked.

"You can still date him if you want." he teased. "It's not like trine bonds make him our relative or something."

Starscream calmly flicked Warp off. "I do not want to date him."

TC grinned. "Suurre you don't." he said, joining Warp in the good-natured heckling. "You just want to be with him 24-7. That doesn't mean anything at all."

"And you have a protective streak of him that's a mile wide." Warp added with a smirk.

Starscream glared at them. "You are both insufferable."

"And yet you love us anyway." Warp giggled.

Starscream just shook his head, but his attention was already back on Prowl. It was a good idea, adopting him into the trine. He'd be able to keep his promise, no matter what.

Now Warp had him thinking about other things as well. Fragger.


	7. Chapter 7

**Fallen Angels**

**part 4**

It happened in the rec room, of all places.

Prowl knew it was coming. After all, tensions had been high since Starscream had gathered enough confidence to leave Prowl's side from time to time and retrieve his own energon. Prowl had allowed it, knowing Starscream wasn't yet healed enough to start anything. His wings still refused to do anything more than twitch, and that bothered the Seeker more than he was willing to admit.

Still, it took Prowl by surprise when Jazz burst into his office without knocking first. "Jazz – "

"Ya have ta come." Jazz panted. "Now!"

Immediately Prowl set aside what he was working on (for once, actual paperwork instead of a mix) and followed Jazz down the halls to the rec room. "So what's going on?" he demanded as Jazz's pace forced him to break out into a run. "Did the Twins do something again?"

"What was Screamer doin' in the rec room without ya, Prowler?" Jazz shot back, rounding a corner at top speed. "Ya should know better!"

"He was just getting energon." Prowl protested, taken aback by Jazz's vehemence. This wasn't typical Jazz behavior. "It's far more efficient if he gets it himself instead of having to wait on me to get around to it. I already discussed this with Prime."

"Well, ya both are off yer fraggin' rockers." Jazz scowled, slowing down as he reached the entrance to the rec room. "Take a look, an' then tell me that was a good idea."

Prowl did take a look. And froze.

Starscream was on the ground (how had that one happened – Starscream _never_ allowed anyone to push him down) with the Twins standing over him, and Cliffjumper was _taunting_ him.

Prowl didn't really hear what was being said. He was still trying to get over the idea of Starscream winding up on the wrong end of a fight. That wasn't the Seeker he knew.

He was snapped out of his stunned state when Cliffjumper reached down and grabbed Starscream's wing.

Jazz had never seen Prowl move that fast. One minute he was watching the entire fight, as if considering what course of action would be best, the next he was standing behind Cliffjumper with his hand clenching the minibot's neck. Cliffjumper froze. So did the Twins, Jazz, and everyone who had been watching the fight, if one wanted to call it that.

"Let go of him." Prowl said quietly.

Cliffjumper snarled. "Make me." he spat. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were backing away. Prowl's optics flashed, and Cliffjumper cried out in pain as Prowl tightened his grip. "What are you doing you crazy slagger?" he shouted. "I'm an Autobot – you can't do this to me!"

"Yes, I can." Prowl said flatly. "Instigating a fight against someone who will not harm you is not Autobot behavior. It is my duty to correct that."

"You're insane!"

"Let him go and I'll let you go."

Cliffjumper released Starscream's wing. Prowl let go of his neck. Just as Jazz thought it was safe to breathe, Cliffjumper spun around and launched himself at Prowl, who calmly stepped to the side. Cliffjumper went flying past him and crashed into one of the other mechs who were watching. Said mech grabbed Cliffjumper's arms to keep him from going back after Prowl. Prowl nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to Starscream.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, kneeling next to the injured mech.

"I actually felt that." Starscream said, sounding a little breathless with the pain. "That must be a good thing, right?"

Prowl almost smiled at that. "I would think so, but I think Ratchet would be the one to tell you one way or another. Come on, let's get you to the med bay." He grabbed Starscream's arm and helped pull him to his feet. Starscream staggered a little before leaning against Prowl's shoulder for stability.

Cliffjumper glared at him. "I can't believe you, Prowl!" he spat. "After everything he's done – all the Autobots he's killed – you're defending him?"

Prowl didn't bother acknowledging that. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Cliffjumper – report to my office. Now." he ordered. Cliffjumper opened his mouth to protest, but Sunny and Sides were quick to shut him up. For once, the Twins were doing as they were told.

Jazz waited until Prowl and Starscream were out of sight before sliding back into the hallway. Blaster was almost immediately at his side. "We have to tell Prime." he hissed. "This is going too far."

Jazz immediately shook his head. "No. We don' know how this started! Fer all we know, Screamer was defendin' himself – "

"Defending himself?" Blaster demanded. "Does a 'Con ever _defend_ himself? You have to remember, Jazz, Screamer's a _'Con_. He never just defends himself. He probably instigated the whole thing! The others will say it's true!"

"Cuz the others don' like 'im any more than ya do!" Jazz protested.

"We have to tell Prime." Blaster insisted.

Jazz scowled. "No. We ain' tellin' him nothin' yet. I'm gonna check the security cameras – that'll solve it one way or the other. An' if Screamer started this mess, then we'll tell Prime. But only then. Got me?" Blaster scowled back. Jazz glared at him. "Ah said, _got me?_"

"I got you, Jazz."

"Good." Jazz stalked off, muttering under his breath.

Blaster turned back to head the opposite way down the hall. Time to pay a visit to Prime, no matter what Jazz said.

/-/

Prowl sat with Starscream in the med bay as they waited for Ratchet. "What happened?" Prowl asked, keeping his voice low.

Starscream snorted. "Nothing to worry about. I didn't hurt them."

Prowl had to resist the urge to slap him upside the helm. "You could have drop-kicked Cliffjumper across the Ark and not hurt him." he snapped. "You, however, were the one on the ground. Tell me the truth, Star – did they start this?"

Starscream hesitated, then looked away. "Yeah." he admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "Not like it matters, though. In all honesty, I'm surprised it took this long."

Prowl sighed and rubbed his forehead. "So how did it start?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because you can bet your wings they're going to tell Prime you started it." Prowl snapped. "Do you not understand that I'm trying to protect you?"

Ratchet walked into the med bay, and neither spoke while he looked over Starscream's wings. Ratchet grinned. "Congratulations, Screamer – you're healing."

"Stop calling me that." Starscream said automatically. "So the pain is a good thing?"

"Yep. Cliffjumper shouldn't have been able to cause that much pain, but right now your wings are hypersensitive. Give them another week and you'll be pain-free, and after another month, you'll be flying again."

Starscream relaxed visibly. "Another month." he mused. "Better than the 'never' I was anticipating."

Prowl chuckled. "This is Ratchet we're talking about." he teased lightly. "The answer is never 'never'."

"Dang straight." Ratchet muttered. "Now, both of you, get out of here. You're cluttering up my med bay."

Starscream started to leave, then turned back to Ratchet. "Thank you."

Ratchet waved him off. "Tell anyone I've taken a liking to you – "

"Your secret is safe with me!" Starscream teased.

Prowl just smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

TC had gotten used to looking out for Prowl as well as looking out for his trine mates. After all, it wasn't like Prowl actively sought out trouble like Warp was prone to do, and Screamer kept a close enough optic on him as it was. For the most part, all TC did was take over when Screamer had either a severe study session with Skyfire (which put Screamer in _such_ a good mood) or was in detention _after_ one of those study sessions. TC failed to understand how Skyfire managed to keep pissing off the very mech that he had a huge crush on.

Then again, TC mused as he watched Prowl and Starscream go through the lunch line, he could see where Skyfire would get jealous. Prowl and Screamer were standing much closer together than they normally did, Screamer occasionally brushing Prowl's hand with his, and Skyfire –

Well, if looks could kill, no force on Cybertron could save Prowl.

Starscream slid into the seat across from TC, Prowl taking the seat next to him. Prowl frowned. "Warp get detention again?"

TC grimaced. "Yep. Told the dumb fragger it was stupid to prank Sentinel when he was in a mood." he muttered. Starscream shook his helm.

"Not much we can do about him being a dumb fragger." he pointed out.

"True. But still." TC all but pouted.

Prowl wasn't quite looking at Screamer and TC, though. He was looking _past_Screamer. "Um, Star? Why does Skyfire look royally fragged off?" he asked, doorwings pulling back in a clear indication of discomfort. Screamer twisted around and growled something under his breath.

"Don't mind him." he muttered. "He just has the world's biggest crush on me."

TC grinned. "And it frags him off that you have Screamer's undivided attention." he commented.

Prowl didn't miss the venomous look Screamer gave TC, but he decided not to comment on it for the moment. That would come later. He shrugged casually. "Not my fault I got adopted by the trine and he didn't." he said blandly. Screamer chuckled at that.

"Very true." he said with a small grin. "Still, he grates my nerves more often than not. Always fawning over me, just like when we were sparklings." His lips curled into a sneer.

Prowl considered this for a moment. "Have you let him know you aren't interested?" he asked.

TC burst out laughing at that. "Does decking him in the face count?"

Prowl grinned. "Yep, that counts."

"And he still won't get the hint." Screamer growled.

Prowl leaned back in his chair for a moment before casting them both a smirk. "Be right back." he said, letting his hand trail across Screamer's shoulder before walking off. Starscream shivered.

TC grinned. "Still gonna sell me that crap about not being interested?" he teased.

Starscream shrugged. "Okay, so I am interested."

"You can do better than that." TC said in a sing-song voice. Screamer merely flicked him off. TC just laughed. He had won; Starscream didn't need to admit it. TC knew exactly what Screamer felt. It was just a matter of getting the stubborn jet to admit it.

Prowl approached Skyfire with a small smile on his face. "Hello, Skyfire."

"Prowl." Skyfire muttered. "Coming over here to gloat?"

"Hardly." Prowl said dryly. "Star and I aren't an item, and if we were, I wouldn't feel the need to rub your nose in it." He took a deep breath. This wasn't something he had ever done before, but the trine protocols he had assimilated from Star, TC, and Warp demanded that he do something to help his trine mates. Even if it was defending Star from an annoying suitor.

There was something else as well, but Prowl chose to ignore that for the moment. He could figure it out later.

"What I want to tell you," he continued, "is that you really should stop pestering Starscream."

Skyfire snorted. "Do you have any idea how long I've loved him?" he demanded. "I can't just give up. He's all I've ever wanted."

It was all Prowl could do not to laugh at that. TC was right – he really was blind. "Skyfire, Starscream has never loved you." he said gently. "You know that. Besides, if you keep mooning after him, someone who will love you back will come along, and you'll never see them because you're too blind." His bit said, he turned to walk away.

Skyfire's voice stopped him. "Are you helping me or yourself?" he asked.

Prowl considered. "I'm helping Star. Take that how you will."

Starscream gave Prowl a look as he sat back down. "What did you say to him?" he asked, tilting his helm to the side.

Prowl smirked. "I told him to keep his optics off my mech." he said in a total deadpan.

Star looked like he was about to choke. TC was laughing hysterically. Prowl merely smiled and turned his attention back to his energon cube.

It was so nice to be proven right.


	9. Chapter 9

**Fallen Angels**

**part 5**

They stood in front of Prime – Red Alert, Blaster, Jazz, Prowl, and Starscream. Jazz was glaring daggers at Blaster, who looked rather smug with himself. No doubt he was the one to go to Prime about the fight before Prowl had the chance to, Prowl thought darkly. Starscream was standing just behind Prowl at Prowl's insistence. He didn't know how this was going to go, but he'd be damned before he let something happen to Star.

Prime stared hard at them. "What happened, Red Alert?" he asked.

Red lifted his chin just a bit. "The security cameras caught the Twins and Cliffjumper assaulting Starscream, sir." he said calmly.

"Did Starscream start this?"

"Starscream didn't do a thing. He was getting energon when the Twins threw him to the ground and let Cliffjumper continue the assault." Red said flatly. Prime nodded and turned his attention to Blaster.

"You came to me with false information." he said coldly. "Why?"

Blaster suddenly wasn't looking so smug anymore. Prowl had to fight the urge to smirk. "I gave you the information I had, sir." he protested. Jazz snorted.

"Again't my advice, sir." he added darkly.

Prime nodded. "Noted, Jazz. Starscream, you did not fight back. Why?"

Starscream shrugged. "What's Autobot policy for dealing with pains in the aft?" he asked. "Honestly, I don't know."

Blaster snorted. "Since when do the rules matter to you?" he sneered.

Starscream gave him a sparing glance. "Since I'm under Prowl's protection."

Silence followed that statement. Prime reset his optics. "Elaborate."

Starscream sighed and crossed his arms over his chassis. He hadn't had his weapons with him when he arrived at the base, something he still refused to explain to Prowl. "Despite being on opposite sides of this stupid war, I happen to respect Prowl. I can actually tolerate him. So if I did something that reflected poorly on him, you might have me assigned to someone else. And that would annoy me. Therefore, the rules matter." He said everything so matter-of-factly that Prowl couldn't stop the slight smirk.

Optimus considered them for a moment. "Blaster, I will leave your punishment with Jazz." he said quietly. "Red Alert, you are dismissed." Red nodded and left. Blaster was quick to leave as well – Jazz was not a mech you wanted annoyed with you. Jazz himself, however, stayed where he was. Prime gave him an odd look. "You may leave."

"Not til Prowler c'n go too, sir." Jazz said calmly. Optimus sighed.

"Loyal to a fault, aren't you?"

"Ah consider it mah best trait." Jazz said with a cocky grin. Optimus chuckled before turning abruptly serious.

"You may stay, Jazz, but I warn you now – do not interrupt."

"Yes, sir."

Prowl stiffened. This was not going to end well. Prime turned his attention to Prowl and Starscream. "What happened to your restraint, Prowl?" he asked quietly. "You have never acted with violence against a fellow Autobot. What has changed?" Prowl refused to answer. Starscream was starting to twitch, reaching up and grabbing Prowl's upper arm in a tight grip. Prime watched them for a moment. "There is something between you."

"He's my friend." Prowl said quietly.

"He's more than that." Prime countered. "I have watched you interact with Jazz all these years. You treat Starscream differently."

"I've known Starscream longer." Prowl said flatly. Starscream was close enough to feel Prowl's doorwings start to tremble.

He was scared, and it showed if you knew how to read the signs. Starscream knew them all – he had seen them all first hand during the Academy. Every trine protocol in his system was demanding that he remove the threat to his trine mate, even if Prowl wasn't technically part of the trine. But Starscream couldn't make a move against Optimus Prime, no matter how badly he wanted to. There was a bigger plan to unfold, and Starscream could not screw that up. He tightened his grip on Prowl's arm.

Optimus's optics narrowed. "How long?"

"Since the Academy."

"And you didn't think to mention this when we found out he was Megatron's SIC?" Optimus asked, his voice oddly flat. Now Jazz was starting to shift uneasily.

Prowl lifted his chin, refusing to give an inch. "I was shocked to find him alive, sir." he said. "I didn't think anything that I knew from the Academy would be of much tactical worth."

"Do you think Starscream returned the sentiment?"

"I know he did."

"How? Starscream has shown no loyalty to his own leader, much less – "

"I wouldn't betray my trine mate!" Starscream snapped, his wings flaring as he pulled Prowl closer to him. Comprehension flashed across Jazz's face only to be quickly hidden. Optimus stared at Starscream in disbelief. Prowl shifted his weight, ready to defend Starscream if the need arose. Silence descended on the group, tense and ready to break without warning. It was up to Optimus to decide where this was going to go.

Optimus took a steadying breath. "Trine mate? How is that possible?"

"Trines can adopt a fourth member." Prowl said quietly. "The protocols are different – weaker – but still there. It happened back in the Academy." He watched Optimus closely. "Distance affects the strength of the protocols. I thought Starscream had died in the attack on the Academy. With him on the Decepticon base, the protocols have never presented a problem."

Optimus pinched his noseplates, as if trying to ward off a headache. "You keep secrets very well if I'm just now finding out about this." he muttered. "Jazz – did you know about this?"

Jazz's visor flashed. "No sir."

Prime's optics narrowed. "Have you seen anything that would indicate something like this?"

"No, sir." Jazz said smoothly. "Nothing of the like."

Prowl wondered if he was the only one who could tell when Jazz was lying. Optimus sure couldn't. He nodded sharply and resumed studying Prowl and Starscream. Prowl knew that look. Something was about to go down, and Prowl knew he wasn't going to like it at all.

"Ratchet tells me Starscream's wings are almost healed. We'll begin the interrogation process then."

Jazz blinked. "Why interrogate 'im, Prime?" he asked cautiously. "He's been behavin' all this time. He'll start tellin' us stuff when he's ready."

Prime shook his helm. "I need answers he's not giving me." he said quietly. "Answers he won't unless under pressure. So Ironhide will interrogate him."

"What about Prowler?" Jazz demanded.

Optimus looked Prowl in the optic, and Prowl could see the discomfort there. He really hadn't wanted Jazz there because of this. "Prowl will be placed in the brig for insubordination and attacking a fellow Autobot." he said evenly.

Starscream glared at Prime. "I warn you now, Prime – I have behaved so far. If you want tactical information from me, I will freely give you that. But if you try to force something from me that I don't want to tell, I will cease to play nice. I will tear Ironhide apart." he said quietly.

Prime chuckled. "Without your wing mates? You cannot harm Ironhide."

"I wouldn't be too sure 'bout that, Prime." Jazz warned. "Actually, I don' think Screamer would be the problem." Prowl's hands were clenched into fists, although he held himself perfectly still. Not even his doorwings were vibrating anymore.

Optimus considered this for a moment. "Fine. Then Prowl will do the interrogations when his brig time is over. Jazz, you will watch Starscream in the meantime."

Jazz scowled, but didn't say anything. There really was nothing he could do.

A glance at Starscream and Prowl, however, told a different story. Prowl was simply staring at Prime with that same blank expression he usually kept up, but his fists were still clenched. Starscream had this small, almost invisible smirk on his face. Jazz knew that smirk well enough from the Twins.

Starscream had a plan. Primus help them all.


	10. Chapter 10

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

Starscream had been watching him.

Which sounded a lot creepier than it actually was, but considering Prowl was his trine mate, he figured he could get away with watching him whenever he wanted to. After all, he was doing it to keep him safe. Hot Rod had apparently forgotten about the smack-down that Screamer had given him after his fight with Prowl. The slagger was once again mocking Prowl, harassing the shy, reclusive mech, and unfortunately he would never take it that one step farther that would allow Starscream to rip his arms off, and Prowl refused to let him do it otherwise.

Well, maybe Hot Rod had learned something.

Right now, though, Starscream watched Prowl as he recharged. He had fallen asleep over his notes – some class that Star didn't share with him, but Prowl thought it was important – and Star had walked in without waking him.

Prowl liked to sleep on his stomach or his back, but never his side. Seekers could adjust their wings to accommodate such actions, but doorwingers – or more accurately Prowl – couldn't. Doorwings were just too sensitive. Prowl was currently passed out on his stomach, doorwings fluttering on occasion, and Starscream simply watched him.

Something was changing. Star just couldn't figure out what.

"Star."

He refocused his optics and realized that Prowl was no longer recharging, but rather was watching him without ever leaving his comfortable position. Star smiled at him. "I didn't mean to wake you." he said softly, feeling the need to stay quiet. "If you want, I can go."

"No. I'd rather you stay." Prowl said immediately. He didn't bother to sit up, or even really to move, and Star frowned. That wasn't like Prowl at all. He walked over to Prowl's berth and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

Star scowled. "You're lying to me." he growled. Prowl looked away, burying his face in his berth mat. Star grabbed his shoulder. "How am I supposed to protect you if you lie to me?" he demanded, unable to fully keep the hurt from his voice.

Prowl looked up at him and smiled slightly. "This is me protecting you." he said gently. "Trust me when I say – I'm fine."

"But it's not true." Star protested. Prowl shrugged slightly, and Star didn't miss the wince of pain as he did so. He scowled again. "Is it Hot Rod? Is he messing with you again?"

"No – not Hot Rod." Prowl assured him with a snort. "The last time he tried anything, I hit him in the helm with a ruler. He stopped messing with me." Star chuckled at that. He abruptly grew serious. Prowl merely smiled at him. "I'm fine, Star."

"No." Star shook his head. "You're hurt. I can tell." Now that he was back in contact with his trine mate, the protocols were active once again. He _knew_ Prowl was hurt, somewhere in his upper back. Prowl watched him for a moment before slowly lowering his doorwings just enough for Star to see the damage done to his upper back and the back of his neck. He cursed. "Slag it, Prowl – how did this happen?" Prowl didn't react, not even as Star gently traced his fingers across the dented metal. If anything, that scared Star more. "Prowl, tell me!"

"I can't." he said softly.

"Why the slag not?"

"I'm protecting you." Prowl smiled an honest smile, and Star felt his spark clench. "Just do me a favor and don't try to get involved. It'll get better in a few days." He reached up and touched Star's hand. Star gave him a hard look.

"You can't fool me." he said darkly. "I know something's wrong. So if you won't tell me, I'm going to have to make you."

Prowl's smile turned into a slow grin. "Go ahead and try." he teased. "I'm trained to withstand all manners of torture."

Star smirked at him. "I'll bet I can break you." he teased back, reaching out and tickling Prowl's sides. Prowl squealed in a rather undignified manner and tried to squirm away, but Star had an advantage over him. Prowl's laughter rang out through the room, and after a moment Star started to laugh as well. For a moment, Star forgot clean about getting information out of the reclusive doorwinger – they were simply having fun. It felt good to laugh like this again.

Suddenly Prowl managed to flip himself over, making Star lose his balance and land sprawled on top of him.

Both froze.

Star could feel his circuits starting to heat up. Prowl was staring at him, optics dim and lips slightly parted. There was something between them; the air was getting charged. Star could feel Prowl's energy field fluctuating, reaching out and brushing across Star's sensors then withdrawing, again and again. He shivered, struggling to think of something that would break the sudden tension, but nothing came to mind.

Prowl shivered, his body practically vibrating against Star's, and that was all it took to make the Seeker's control break.

In the rec room, TC was only mildly surprised when Warp appeared beside him and started bouncing on his feet. "TC! You wanna see something really sweet and totally overdue?" he asked, a wicked grin crossing his face.

TC smirked, humoring his trine mate. "Okay – what?"

"Promise you won't say a word when we get there? You'll ruin the moment if you do."

"I promise, Warp."

Warp grinned again and grabbed TC's arm, teleporting them to just inside their own quarters. TC was about to ask just what was so interesting in _their_ quarters when he saw Screamer and Prowl. Both on Prowl's berth.

_Kissing._

Not just regular kissing either, judging from the fact that neither had registered their trine mates' arrival and Screamer didn't look like he was about to give up his position on top of Prowl anytime soon. Neither seemed inclined to take it any father, but still – TC felt a little strange being there. He tugged on Warp's arm to let him know he'd seen enough. Warp teleported them to just outside of their quarters, grinning audio to audio.

"Well?" he whispered.

TC grinned. "I completely agree – it's about bloody well time."


	11. Chapter 11

**Fallen Angels**

**part 6**

Prowl sat calmly in the brig – for the moment. If he concentrated enough, he could feel Star hidden away in his spark, like a stray thought in the back of his processor. He could even feel the faintest traces of TC and Warp – echoes of a formerly strong trine bond. Had the distance between them weakened it, or was it weak because their bond with Star was weak? Prowl didn't know.

Unfortunately, sitting in a cell with nothing else to do gave Prowl ample time to think. And Prowl didn't want to think. He wanted to be back in his office with Star watching him work, not contemplating what Prime wanted him to do.

Interrogate Star? Prowl knew that while torture was not permissible (not officially, at any rate) that Prime did turn a blind eye to certain measures to make a mech talk. Nothing horrifying, nothing that would actually leave lasting damage. It was more of a psychological thing than anything else – most 'Cons broke within minutes of realizing that the Autobots did not mind physical punishment. The prisoners didn't need to know that no Autobot would ever take it any farther.

But Star wasn't a prisoner.

That was the sticking point.

It was Prowl's chance to prove himself, to show Prime that he wasn't a traitor, and yet he couldn't do it. He simply could not wrap his processor around the idea of forcing Star to tell him anything. Star had always shared information freely. If information was withheld, it was for Prowl's protection.

Not unlike his own stunt back at the Academy. That had almost cost them everything.

"I c'n smell the smoke, Prowler."

Prowl smiled. "I never could get anything past you, could I?" he teased lightly, as if they weren't talking through cell bars. Jazz smirked at him as he leaned against the far wall of the brig. Prowl sighed. "I can't help but think. I have nothing better to do."

"How 'bout story tellin'?" Jazz asked.

Prowl gave him a look. "What story would you like to hear?"

"Ya could tell me why ya never told me 'bout this." Jazz said with a wave of his hand. "Ya know 'm yer friend, Prowler. I wouldn't have told Prime, or anyone else fer that matter."

That earned him another sigh. "I know this, Jazz." Prowl said softly. "I did tell you, though. I would have told you more if I hadn't found out who Megatron's SIC was, then I realized it was too dangerous. I couldn't betray my trine mates. When I realized that I could trust you – well, it was just too easy to keep the secret." Prowl shrugged. "I've always been good at keeping secrets."

Jazz frowned at that, but didn't comment. "I c'n understand that." he said finally, reluctantly. "Ya gonna lock me out like that again?"

Prowl smiled. "Considering the way this is playing out, I can't promise that, Jazz." he said softly. "I can't really protect myself and Star at this point, but I can protect you, and that means you knowing as little as possible."

"Point." Jazz conceded. "But I c'n take care o' myself, ya know."

"I know."

Jazz sighed. "So – trine mates, right?"

Prowl tilted his head to the side. "Yes."

"Separation must drive ya nuts, considerin' ya've been in contact with Starscream now." Jazz said off-handedly. Prowl's doorwings twitched, the only sign Jazz was going to get that he was right. Jazz chuckled. "Good thing Red owes me a favor then, ain't it?"

"Why is that?" Prowl asked slowly.

The cell bars retracted. Prowl made no move to get up, and Jazz didn't motion him forward. Instead, he walked over to the brig doors and leaned outside, motioning someone else in. Prowl's optics brightened as Starscream walked inside. Jazz nodded to him.

"Y'all got two hours." he said softly. "'m sorry, but that's the best I c'n do."

"Thank you, Jazz." Prowl said just as softly. Jazz nodded once again and left the room. For a moment, neither Prowl nor Star moved. Prowl didn't know how long the bars would remain retracted. On an impulse, he reached out to Star without standing, like a sparkling demanding to be picked up. He hadn't expected anything to happen, really – after all, so much time had passed since Star had reacted to him in any way – but maybe –

He never got to finish that thought before Star was in front of him, kneeling on the ground and wrapping his arms around Prowl's shoulders. Prowl leaned into the embrace, feeling their trine bond suddenly flare to life. Proximity, touching. It helped keep the bond strong.

"Too damn long." Star murmured, pulling Prowl closer. Prowl nodded. With a small sigh, Star continued, "You would think that once we said 'trine mates', Prime would have realized that separating us is the worst thing to do."

Prowl sighed, completely relaxing against Star. "Oh, he knows." he muttered. "He's using it against us. He thinks that separating us will make you more compliant, and me as well." He shivered slightly.

Star tightened his grip. "Well, he's right about part of it."

Prowl looked up as best as he could with his head tucked under Star's chin. "What part?"

Star laughed hollowly. "I will not allow him to separate us. I'll tell you what he wants to know – part of it. Later I may tell him more."

Prowl pulled back enough to look Star square in the optic. "You do not have to tell me anything." he said softly. "I won't interrogate you."

"If you don't interrogate me, then you'll lose your standing with Prime." Star retorted. "And that is perhaps more dangerous. Let me tell you why I came here. Then you can decide what to do with the rest of it."

"You don't have to." Prowl protested.

"But I want to." Star released Prowl, allowing him to move back enough to look Star in the optic. "You, of all mechs, deserve to know. I was going to tell you, but not until later. Prime kinda forced my hand here." He sighed and sat back, putting even more space between them. "TC and Warp bonded, you know."

Prowl blinked. "Seriously? I knew they were close at the Academy, but – "

"It didn't happen that long ago." Star assured him with a small smirk. "Don't worry, tactician – you didn't miss anything. Still, with them bonded, that means I get left alone for extended periods of time." Prowl had to bite back a chuckle at the almost-pout in Star's voice. Star flashed him a smirk before continuing, utterly serious now. "Well, apparently Megatron took that as his cue. He started making advances on me, but I basically brushed it off. Until –" He cut himself off, reconsidered his words, then started again. "Nothing happened, but as you can tell, I didn't fare well from the encounter. All I could think was that I needed help, and I didn't trust Hook to do it.

"I remembered that you were the SIC here, and Ratchet was supposed to be good – I think I was moving on autopilot." Star shrugged. "Still, that's how I got here, and with no weapons as well."

For a moment, Prowl didn't say anything. He wanted to reach out to the other mech, but experience had taught him that Star was not overly physical with his emotions. Prowl would give him a few minutes, then reach out. "Where were TC and Warp in all of this?" he asked instead.

Star scowled, anger plain in his face, but Prowl could read the smaller signs – his wings were low, his shoulders hunched – he was hurting, not angry. "'Facing each other senseless. I doubt they even noticed I left." he spat out. "Fools. I don't need them."

Prowl simply took Star's hand and squeezed tight. "I'm sorry." he said softly.

Star lowered his head and shook.

Outside of the brig, Jazz listened in intently. He filed away the information for later consideration, then walked away. Red Alert would let him know when he had to get Starscream out of there.

For now, he had an impertinent spybot that needed a good beating.


	12. Chapter 12

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

Prowl copied his notes carefully, keeping his optics focused firmly on his work. He could feel Sentinel hovering behind him, and his doorwings automatically went rigid. The teacher stood there a moment longer, just enough to make Prowl's wings tense even more, before moving away. Prowl's wings didn't relax.

This had been going on for the past six weeks. Prowl had hoped that by now Sentinel would have grown tired of the game and would finally leave Prowl alone. So far, however, the game was simply gaining momentum. Prowl wasn't sure how much longer he could keep giving Star, TC, and Warp excuses – especially Star. He was trying to protect them all, but –

Honestly, what could he do against Sentinel?

"Prowl, are you focusing?"

"Yes, sir." Prowl didn't even flinch as he continued taking notes. This private 'study session' had been going on for some time now. Prowl didn't dare glance over at the other two students who had been selected for the extra attention. Behind him, he heard the only other doorwinger _(Bluestreak Primus he was younger even than Warp he didn't deserve this)_ whimper from behind him. Sentinel whipped around, already bearing down on the youngling.

Prowl calmly knocked his stack of datapads over. The other youngling – Soundwave – gave him a warning look from his left before Sentinel grabbed Prowl by the back of his neck and gripped tightly. Prowl barely flinched, but his dental plating ground together. Sentinel tightened his grip, and still Prowl refused to cry out.

"You're being awfully insubordinate today, seekerlet."

Primus, he hated that name.

"It was an accident, sir." Prowl said flatly, no hint of anger or fear or pain in his voice. Sentinel snarled and slammed Prowl's helm into the desk before stalking towards the door. Pain lanced through Prowl's chevron, but still he didn't flinch. Sentinel spun around and glared at them.

"I expect all of you back in here tomorrow at the same time. Dismissed." With that, he turned on his heel and left.

Bluestreak let out a shaky breath. "Primus, Prowl, what were you thinking you could have gotten yourself _slagged!_" he hissed, walking over to check the damage. Prowl brushed his hand away.

"I'm fine." he said calmly. Soundwave shook his head.

"Chevron cracked. You cannot keep shutting down your emotional subroutines. Glitch may occur." Soundwave informed him, walking over to stand beside Bluestreak. Prowl merely shook his head again. Soundwave scowled. "You do not want a glitch. Take it from a mech who knows." He tapped the side of his helm for emphasis. Prowl gave him a look.

"You have a speech impediment. Not a glitch." he corrected the older mech.

Soundwave made a snorting sound. "Glitch." he said adamantly. "General consensus."

"Doesn't that make you feel special." Bluestreak all but growled. Prowl almost smiled at him. The pain in his chevron was getting worse. Sentinel had gone farther than he normally did. Prowl wouldn't be able to hide this – or easily dismiss it. Bluestreak tilted his helm to the side, watching Prowl. "What are you thinking? You can tell me, you know."

This time Prowl truly did smile, albeit briefly. "I'm trying to figure out what to tell Star." he admitted. "I can't exactly hide this, and I can't avoid my quarters."

Soundwave sighed. "Advice: Tell him truth." he said.

Prowl shook his helm viciously, then instantly regretted it when it did nothing but exacerbate the pain. "You heard Sentinel." he gasped. "We can't say a word. It'll only get worse for all of us."

Bluestreak wrapped his arms around Prowl's shoulders. "You should go see First Aid." he said softly. "He can at least patch it so it won't hurt as bad." He was rubbing his own chevron in sympathetic pain. Prowl hesitated, but he couldn't deny the logic in the statement. Bluestreak continued in Prowl's silence. "He won't ask too many questions, either. We can do it without anyone knowing why."

Prowl grimaced. "How?"

"Solution: Lie." Soundwave said bluntly. "Make up story."

Bluestreak nodded enthusiastically. "Right! We'll just let Prowl do the talking, so that way we aren't coming up with three different stories and it doesn't sound rehearsed. We can even tell the same thing to Starscream so he stays out of trouble, too!" He hugged Prowl tightly. "It's a good idea, right Prowl?"

Prowl sighed and nodded slowly. "Okay. Let's do this."

/-/

First Aid had to admit – he had seen some screwed-up things in his lifetime, but nothing compared to the fractures the young doorwinger had suffered to his chevron. He examined the injury carefully, making sure not to touch the chevron any more than he absolutely had to. The youngling didn't need to be in any more pain than he already was. "What happened to you?" he asked calmly.

Prowl shrugged, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I ran into a pole."

First Aid blinked. "Say what?"

"We were playing chase. I wasn't looking where I was going, and I ran headfirst into one of the support pillars." Prowl grimaced. "Hurt my pride and my chevron all in one go."

Bluestreak chuckled a bit nervously. "We tried to warn you, but you didn't listen." he said teasingly.

"More like I didn't stop in time." Prowl shot back, smiling slightly.

First Aid said nothing as he began to apply a protective plastic that would keep the chevron together until Prowl's auto repair systems could fix the damage on their own. He pulled back, but not before noticing the finger-shaped dents in Prowl's neck and shoulders.

He wondered briefly if the other two younglings had similar marks on them. He said nothing.

"Well, I would advise more caution during your off-time." he said lightly, patting Prowl on the shoulder gently. "And keep your chase games to the exercise yard."

"I'll bear that in mind." Prowl said dryly. "Thank you, First Aid."

"Not a problem." the young medic said with a small smile. He watched the three leave before scowling.

That was the third mysterious injury with a lame excuse he had seen during his stint here. He didn't like it – not one bit. Which meant one thing.

It was time to call in Ratchet. If there was something going on here, surely Sentinel Prime's CMO could figure it out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Fallen Angels**

**part 7**

Starscream went with Jazz when the TIC went to retrieve Prowl from the brig. He had to admit, he was starting to like the Special Ops mech a lot. Jazz was willing to listen to Starscream, and after the end of six days had even stopped calling him Screamer. (For the most part – he still liked doing it to annoy the slag out of Starscream on occasion.) Starscream was starting to trust Jazz.

"So, did you comm. Prowl and let him know we're rescuing him?" he asked, suddenly in a much better mood than he'd been the entire six days Prowl had been locked away.

Jazz shook his helm. "I tried. Can' raise 'im." he said calmly enough.

Suddenly Starscream realized just how fast they were walking, being quick without actually running. "This isn't something normal, I take it?" he said lightly, attempting to keep his voice calm. His wings were twitching badly. Jazz shook his helm again.

"No." He glanced at Starscream. "Look, I ain' sayin' anythin's happened ta Prowler, but ya gotta promise me that ya ain' gonna do anythin' stupid."

Starscream froze as he digested that bit of information. "That depends entirely upon Prowl's condition when we find him." he said tightly. Jazz nodded sharply.

"Guess that's good 'nough fer me." he muttered.

Starscream glanced at Jazz as he caught back up. "He always responds to me when I comm. him." he said quietly. "We've kept in touch when I can't get down there."

Jazz nodded again. "Have ya noticed anythin' strange? Trine leader, ya would know if somethin' was wrong with yer trine mate."

"It's weak." Starscream said bluntly. "Our bond, I mean. Trine protocols weren't mean to take a fourth member. One of us always stayed pretty close to Prowl, since that was really the only way to keep the bonds active. Right now – " He fell silent, searching out for the bond. It was so very faint, fainter than it should have been. The bond had slowly been getting stronger the longer Starscream stayed at the Ark. And now . . . . "I can't – "

"Ya can' raise 'im either?"

"No. It's too faint. It's like he's unconscious or something."

"Let's hurry, then."

They practically ran down the halls. Red Alert was already down at the entrance to the brig, holding a squirming Cliffjumper tight against his side. He nodded to Jazz and Starscream. "I already Ratchet." he said bluntly. "You might want to go and calm Prowl down though."

"He's conscious?" Starscream demanded.

"Very."

Starscream brushed past them, shoving the door open and letting it slam behind him. All the bars to the cells had been retracted. Starscream immediately darted to Prowl's cell, almost colliding with the wall before he was able to stop and calm himself enough to walk in. He still couldn't sense Prowl at all. "Prowl? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Star." Prowl said, his voice laced with static. Starscream frowned.

"I don't believe you." he said flatly. "Let down your block. It's not helping."

There was a brief pause. "Star, trust me when I say – you don't want me to do that."

"I do."

There was another pause. Starscream scowled and walked into the cell. He froze. "Slag, Prowl." he breathed, kneeling beside the injured mech. "What did he _do_ to you?" Prowl's left door wing was badly damaged, dislocated with the sensor panel torn. His left arm had also taken serious damage. He wasn't moving it, keeping it tucked tightly against his body. This was only the damage Starscream could see. He knew there was more – Prowl was holding himself too stiffly, refusing to turn and face Starscream head-on like he normally would. "Prowl – "

"I'm fine."

"Stop lying, fragger!"

Prowl's helm snapped around, shock and confusion plain on his faceplates. Starscream didn't stop though. There was too much to say. "You want me to trust you again – but how can I when _you won't trust me?_ Primus, Prowl, you're my trine mate." Starscream leaned back, tanks churning. "You're my trine mate, Prowl."

There was another pause before Prowl spoke again, and for once he didn't sound like the Autobot SIC. He sounded as frightened and confused as he had been when Star had found him half-dead in the Academy med bay. "You were dead."

Starscream could faintly hear Jazz and Ratchet arguing, but Prowl was far more important at the moment. "So were you."

Prowl looked away. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. How could we have known?"

Prowl waved his good hand dismissively and almost unbalanced himself in the process. "I meant later. When I found out – and I knew where you were – I didn't come for you. You or TC or Warp. I just left you there." He refused to look at Starscream again. "I should have gotten you out. I could have told Prime everything then. He would have backed me."

It was Starscream's turn for an uncomfortable silence. Which had hurt worse, he wondered darkly, thinking that Prowl had been dead for several thousand years, or finding him alive and wearing the Autobot symbol – the symbol of those who had destroyed the Academy – on Soundwave's security footage?

No matter what Starscream had learned since then, he couldn't deny the pain that was still there. He had never told Skywarp and Thundercracker that their adopted trine mate was a traitor. Better they thought he was dead.

He reached out for Prowl. "Let me help you."

Prowl looked at Starscream for a moment, trying to see something Star couldn't figure out, then nodded slowly. He dropped the blocks at his end of their trine bond.

Starscream wasn't aware of Ratchet ordering him to leave so he could get Prowl out of there. He wasn't aware of Jazz grabbing his arm and begging him not to do anything rash. He turned and stormed out of the brig, pain – _Prowl's pain_ – washing through his systems as he went in search of the one mech who could actually put things right again.

Primus help him if he didn't.

/-/

Optimus was mildly startled to see Starscream storm into his office, taking care to shut the door behind him. He was downright paranoid when the Seeker locked the door. "Star – "

Suddenly his back was against the wall, the smaller mech having him pinned rather effectively as he glared up at him. _"Why didn't you stop him?"_ he all but growled, and Prime had to fight not to shiver in fear.

"Stop who?" he asked, his voice remarkably calm for someone in his position.

"Cliffjumper."

"What did Cliffjumper do this time?" Optimus asked, resigned. It seemed the minibot just couldn't stop causing trouble.

Instead of answering him, Starscream reached up and touched a finger to Prime's temple, connecting to a data port there. Optimus stiffened at the sudden intrusion, but instead of invading his processor, Starscream merely presented him with a recent memory file. Suddenly, Optimus understood the Seeker's fury. He could see Prowl's battered body as well as feel the internal damage Starscream knew had been done.

Task done, the Seeker disconnected and pulled back, wings trembling in anger. _"Why didn't you stop him?"_ he hissed. "You _knew_ Cliffjumper was angry with Prowl. Why didn't you do _something – "_

"This really happened?" Prime interrupted him.

"_Yes!"_

"Cliffjumper was responsible?"

"Check with Ratchet and Red Alert if you don't believe me." Starscream snarled.

Optimus nodded. "No need. I will deal with Cliffjumper personally."

That stopped Starscream cold. "You will?"

"Yes." Optimus met Starscream's optics. "No attack against a fellow Autobot goes unpunished. Especially not Prowl, as he is SIC."

Starscream laughed coldly. "If Prowl doesn't retaliate on his own, Jazz will do it for him. He doesn't need your protection."

"He doesn't need yours, either."

"No, he doesn't. But old habits die hard."

Optimus chuckled at that. "Very old habits. And how did Prowl feel when you told him you were joining Megatron?"

For once, Starscream did not hesitate with his answer. "Considering I thought he was dead and had been told it was the Autobots who destroyed the Academy, I thought he would be proud of me." he said sharply. He turned on his heel and walked out of the office with a parting comment.

"Deal with Cliffjumper – before _I_do."


	14. Chapter 14

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

Prowl should have known Star would never have gone for his story. He really should have. That didn't stop him from _telling_ it, however.

Star crossed his arms over his chassis. He stood in front of Prowl's berth. Prowl merely sat there and stared at him – he didn't have the energy to stand up at the moment since most of it was feeding his self-repair systems – while TC and Warp were on TC's berth, watching everything from the top bunk. Star glared hard at Prowl. "Tell me what happened." he demanded.

"I already told you." Prowl said wearily. "I ran into one of the – "

"Don't give me that slag, Prowl – you're too agile to do something that stupid." Star snapped. "Someone hurt you, and I want to know who."

Prowl shuttered his optics for a moment. "Whatever lead you to that conclusion?"

In a flash Star knelt in front of him, gripping his hands tightly. The trine bond suddenly flared to life. Prowl could _feel_ Starscream's frustration, anger, and fear simmering through him, barely contained. TC and Warp were echoes through Star, mirroring their leader's emotions. "Do you think I'm _stupid_?" Star hissed. "You have dents where you shouldn't be dented, you vanish for long periods of time without telling me what's going on or where you're going, and most importantly of all,_your chevron is being held together by the grace of Primus._" Star's wings suddenly sagged, laying closer to his back than Prowl thought possible.

"Frag it, Prowl, how am I supposed to protect you if you won't tell me what's wrong?"

Prowl smiled slightly. "You are protecting me. I'm not alone. This is me protecting you."

Star growled. "Prowl – "

"No." All hint of humor vanished from Prowl's faceplates. "I told you no one would ever lay a hand on you if I could help it. I'm doing it."

TC chose that moment to speak. "It's not one of the students hurting you, then."

Star didn't even look away from Prowl as he responded. "Why?"

"We can take anyone here. That means it's an adult – they're the only ones who even _might_ be able to hurt us."

Warp considered. "But the teachers are all nice." he pointed out. "Why would any of them want to hurt Prowl, especially like that?"

Prowl refused to look at them. How was he supposed to explain what he himself did not understand? What had he done to incur Sentinel's wrath? Even more than that, what had Soundwave and Bluestreak done? Prowl didn't know.

Star let go of Prowl's hands and cupped his face, forcing the other to look at him. "Prowl. Who hurt you?"

He couldn't lie any more. Star would know if he did. He couldn't say anything – Sentinel would kill them! He began to shake with the stress.

"Screamer, you can't keep pushing him!" Warp protested. "He looks like he's going to break as it is."

"What am I supposed to do?" Star demanded, voice cracking. "I can't help him if I don't know what's wrong, and he won't tell me if I don't push him!"

"Let him be." TC said gently. "He'll tell us when he's ready."

"And when will that be? When he's dead? Will we find out who when it's too late to save him?"

Prowl flinched at the accusing words, doorwings trembling in agony. He couldn't – but he had to. Because Star was right. If he didn't tell someone, it would be too late. Not just for him (but he couldn't go either, he had promised Star he wouldn't suffer anymore) but for Bluestreak and Soundwave too. For the others, because Prowl knew there were others.

He spoke in barely a whisper, but Star heard him anyway.

"Sentinel."

He shuttered his optics and let the world fade away.

/-/

Ratchet sighed. "Good catch, First Aid." he said wearily. "You're right. The pattern is there."

First Aid heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Well, not good – but at least I'm not losing my processor." He smiled faintly. "You look like you've seen this before."

"I have – but not with younglings before." Ratchet shuttered his optics, his fists clenching. "He's gone too far this time."

First Aid blinked, completely lost. "Who?"

Ratchet ignored him for the moment, reviewing what he knew about the younglings in question. Most of them had come from either youth centers or foster homes – the kind of younglings no one would ever believe and no one would question too closely about strange wounds. Prowl, however –

Prowl had a record already with the Academy for striking another student across the face when the youngling refused to stop poking his wings. Prowl didn't take slag from anybody. What did Sentinel have on him to make him lie so blatantly?

"Does Prowl have any close friends here?" he asked suddenly.

First Aid nodded. "Rumor has it he's been adopted by one of the trines." he said with a shrug. "I highly doubt it, but there's no doubt that he spends most of his time with fliers."

Ratchet nodded. "So that's how he did it. Okay." He heaved a sigh, spark aching.

"Ratchet!" First Aid snapped, grabbing the older medic's arm. "What is going on? These are my students that are being hurt – include me, please!"

There was a brief pause. Then Ratchet nodded sharply. "I'm going to tell you a secret, and you have to swear to not tell anyone. This is going too far, but I need to think about what to do first."

First Aid nodded. "Okay."

"Sentinel Prime has a glitch. A serious glitch that I've been trying to fix for some time now. It makes him – lash out, so to speak."

First Aid's optics paled. "You mean – _he's_ hurting the younglings?"

"Yes. I believe he is. It fits his pattern rather nicely."

"Sweet Primus." First Aid breathed. "What do we do?"

"I don't know. Before we do anything though, we need to find out if Sentinel is the one who's doing this. For his sake, I hope not."


	15. Chapter 15

**Fallen Angels**

**part 8**

Optimus watched Starscream from the other side of the med bay. The seeker had taken up post beside Prowl and hadn't moved during the time it had taken Ratchet to repair the tactician. Now that Ratchet had finished, Starscream stood alone as he waited for Prowl to wake. Ratchet leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chassis. "I like him." he announced.

Prime arched an optic ridge as he glanced at him. "I know you like Prowl." he said.

"I like Starscream." Ratchet corrected. "He's the only one I know that can match me in a bicker match." Optimus could not fully suppress a smile. Ratchet gave him a look. "Hey – it is possible. I just didn't realize it until I met him."

"He's loyal to Prowl." Optimus said.

Ratchet snorted. "Whether Prowl wants to admit it or not, he's loyal to Starscream." he pointed out. "We just didn't see it." Prime cast him a disbelieving look. Ratchet snickered. "What? Think about it – Prowl rarely goes out on the battlefield even though he's completely capable, he always listens to the damage reports, especially where the 'Cons are concerned – he's looking out for Starscream the only way he knows how right now."

Optimus scowled. "I don't know what to make of this." he muttered.

"What? The trine bonds?"

"No – that I understand completely." Prime corrected. "They were young and most likely didn't understand the full impact of what they were doing. I don't understand –" He cut himself off with a shrug. "There's something going on that I can't put my finger on. It disturbs me."

Ratchet chuckled dryly. "That's an understatement. I wonder if Thundercracker and Skywarp know that Prowl is alive."

"They thought Prowl was dead?"

"Weren't you listening? When the Decepticons attacked the Academy, Prowl thought Starscream had died there. A fourth trine bond isn't strong enough to overcome long distances. They must have been on opposite ends o f the campus when the attack occurred." Ratchet shrugged.

Optimus sighed. "We were lucky Sentinel Prime survived that attack." he mused.

Ratchet stiffened. "Lucky." he murmured, hands clenching into tight fists.

From his position by Prowl, Starscream choked back a laugh. "Lucky. Right. He should have burned with the rest of them." he said flatly. Optimus glanced down, realizing that Starscream had a tight grip on Prowl's hand. Prowl's optics were shuttered, his doorwings twitching slightly. Starscream never looked away from Prowl as he spoke. "Sentinel was a monster."

Optimus scowled. "Sentinel was and is a hero to many Autobots." he corrected. "Your prejudices will not color our perception of his memory."

Ratchet sighed. Starscream merely smirked, still refusing to look at Optimus. "He was a child abuser at best." he retorted. "Have you ever wondered why Prowl is so withdrawn? I'll be the abuse didn't stop when the Academy was destroyed, despite our best efforts."

Optimus glanced at Ratchet. "Decepticon propaganda?" he asked.

"No. Cold, hard truth." Ratchet bit out. "Everything you've ever known about Sentinel Prime has been a lie. He had a glitch – one no previous medic had caught, until I did my first exam on him. He couldn't control his anger, and it didn't help that he was a natural sadist. Some times were worse than others. He got bad again at the Academy." Ratchet sighed and turned his attention to Starscream.

"I did what I could to help Prowl." he said softly.

"But not Bluestreak." Starscream said. "Or Soundwave."

"Wait – Bluestreak was involved too?" Ratchet demanded.

"Among others." Prowl said softly, finally sitting up with Starscream's help. Starscream adjusted himself so he was leaning behind Prowl, allowing the still-injured mech to lean back against him. Prowl squeezed his hand and continued. "There were a lot of us, from what I understood. Either no one cared enough to question, or he threatened us into silence."

Optimus flinched. "Which were you, Prowl?"

Prowl merely stared at him. "Both, sir."

Ratchet blinked. "So that explains it." he murmured. "You never were the kind to take slag from anyone, not even a teacher. Sentinel being Prime would not have affected your opinion in the least, so instead he threatened to hurt the trine."

"Essentially."

Starscream snorted. "Yes, and he would have gotten so very far with that." he muttered darkly.

"I wasn't going to take the chance." Prowl said softly. Starscream glanced at him, then looked away. Optimus glanced at Ratchet before turning and walking out of the med bay. Prowl could faintly hear Jazz's worried voice before the doors clicked shut. Ratchet smiled at him.

"Don't worry – I'll distract Jazz for a bit. He's going to want to see how you are, though."

"I know. I would just rather talk to him tomorrow, please." Prowl said, still in that same, soft monotone. Ratchet nodded and walked out of the med bay, saying something inaudible to Jazz before the doors once again clicked shut. There was the sound of the hydraulic lock hissing into place. Prowl smiled softly. "That's one way to maintain privacy." he murmured.

Starscream nodded. "Any particular reason you don't want to be interrupted?" he asked, turning his attention back to his trine mate. Prowl had not raised his blocks, nor had he released Star's hand, and Star could clearly _feel_ the emotions roiling beneath the expressionless face. Something needed to be said.

"I do trust you."

He blinked. Prowl took his silence as his cue to continue. "What you said earlier, in the brig – I do trust you. You were right, though – the abuse didn't end, and not just with me either. I learned quickly to pull away or risk dragging others into Sentinel's madness. It's a habit that hasn't quite dissipated."

Prowl refused to look at him, choosing instead to look at a point somewhere past Star's helm. It was Star who finally broke the silence.

"Neither has your habit of using big words when you're nervous."

Prowl chuckled, finally meeting Star's gaze. "I thought I was doing better at that."

Star arched an optic ridge. "Dissipated?"

"It's not a big word."

"It's bigger than what I normally use."

"Star, most of my vocabulary is bigger than what you usually use." Prowl shot back. Star opened his mouth to retort, but never got the chance.

Prowl silenced him with a kiss.

/-/

In the monitor room, Red Alert pointed out the blip on the screen to Mirage. "It's them. I'm sure of it." he said.

Mirage studied the blip carefully. "How sure?"

"100%. I knew they would come with Starscream here."

Mirage nodded. "True enough." He pushed away from the monitors and turned his attention to Windcharger. "Call Optimus. Let him know Thundercracker and Skywarp are on their way."


	16. Chapter 16

**Fallen Angels**

**Academy**

"We have to get Prowl out of there." TC hissed. He was perched on his berth, wings flared in distress. Warp had positioned himself between TC's wings, arms wrapped around the other's chassis, faceplates hidden in TC's neck. Starscream was pacing the room, unable to sit still. He needed to be moving. TC glared at him. "You know I'm right, Screamer."

"I know." Starscream muttered.

"We need to get him out of there."

"How do we go up against Sentinel Prime?" Star snarled, spinning around and punching the wall. "Slag it, TC, I can't think of anything! Nothing short of just killing the slagger, at any rate."

"That would just upset Prowl." Warp said softly.

"I know."

TC snorted inelegantly. "Frag Prowl's feelings for a moment and focus on his well-being." he snapped. "If killing Sentinel Prime is what it takes to keep Prowl safe, then we should figure out exactly how to do that."

Warp frowned. "We'd basically be committing treason against the Autobots." he pointed out. "And there's not even technically a war going on yet."

TC scowled. "Ask me if I give a frag."

"Nope. I already know the answer." Warp said cheerfully.

Starscream considered for a moment, then nodded tightly. "All right then, my mechs – let's figure out how we go about killing the most powerful mech in existence without getting ourselves killed in the process. No matter what TC says – I'm pretty sure Prowl_would_ object to that."

TC chuckled darkly. "Agreed."

/-/

Star stood just outside of the med bay, staring in abject horror at the scene inside. Bluestreak was sitting just inside the door, babbling incoherently as First Aid attempted to calm him down and patch his wounds. A medic Star didn't recognize was leaning over a small doorwinger on the medical berth, working frantically even as he cursed under his breath. Star thought his intakes would stop working, thought he was going to pass out.

The doorwinger was Prowl.

First Aid's voice cut through the fog starting to invade his processor. "Bluestreak, I know you're hurt, but I need to know what happened. Can you tell me what happened?"

Bluestreak was trembling violently, but he nodded.

"W-we were just walking down the halls, and Sentinel asked to see me in his office and Prowl insisted on coming with me and Sentinel got mad and told him to away but Prowl wouldn't he said that he wouldn't s-stand for it any longer and then Sentinel hit him and I-I got so s-scared and I ran to find Ironhide and when w-we got back, Prowl was just l-laying there."

It took Star a minute to decipher the poor mech's words. Suddenly, his optics paled.

First Aid's fists clenched. "Thank you, Bluestreak. Listen, I can't let you stay here – we need the room – but do you have a roommate you can stay with until tomorrow?"

Bluestreak nodded. "I-I'm roomed with S-soundwave and – "

"I'll take him." Star said abruptly. "I'll make sure he gets there."

First Aid relaxed considerably. "Thank you, Starscream."

Star gestured towards Prowl, hands shaking slightly. "Is – is he gonna be all right?" he asked, trying so hard to keep his voice from trembling.

First Aid nodded. "Ratchet's the best." he assured the young seeker. "Prowl is going to be just fine."

Star wasn't sure if he believed him.

He guided the traumatized youngling through the hallways. "Bluestreak." he said softly. Bluestreak didn't react, so Starscream kept going. "Look, I know what's happening. My trine and I – we're going to stop it. You aren't going to be hurt again, you or Prowl. I promise you that."

Bluestreak trembled. "Prowl promised me that as well." he said quietly. "I don't want anyone else hurt because of me."

Star muttered under his breath for a moment. "My trine is strong." he said darkly. "I'll be fine. Prowl took on Sentinel on his own. I won't."

For a moment, Bluestreak didn't respond. Then, finally, he spoke softly, quietly.

"Thank you."


	17. Chapter 17

**Fallen Angels**

**part 9**

Starscream was guiding Prowl back to his quarters when it happened. He felt it – the gentle tug at his programming that let him know his trine mates were back within reach. Prowl came to an abrupt halt, almost pulling Starscream over with him. "Prowl – "

"They're here."

Starscream blinked. "I didn't know you'd be able to sense them so easily." he said finally. Prowl gave him a filthy look. Starscream simply chuckled. "Come on – I don't know if they'll be able to sense you or not, but this oughta be good." Prowl smiled at the thought.

Jazz, Ironhide, and the Twins were calmly standing between the two seekers and the base, not allowing them further access but not driving them away either. Optimus stood behind them, examining the newcomers thoughtfully. "Has Megatron sent you?" he asked.

Thundercracker snorted. "No. We come on our own."

"Where's our trine leader?" Skywarp demanded. "I know he's here – I can sense him."

Briefly, Jazz wondered if they could sense Prowl as well, if Prowl and Starscream were aware that the rest of their trine had returned. Optimus's voice cut off his thoughts.

"Starscream was injured by Megatron. Do you know why?"

"We do now." Thundercracker said, an odd note in his voice.

"Drop the third degree, Optimus." Starscream's scratchy voice startled them all. "If they're here, then they've found the truth. They're on our side."

"We're on yours." Thundercracker corrected. "If you follow Prime, then we follow Prime. Simple as that." Skywarp nodded agreement, the small scowl on his face melting away quickly at the sight of his trine leader. Someone moved behind Screamer, and Warp caught a flash of doorwings before he felt something brush against his processors. TC must have felt it too; the older seeker stiffened abruptly and his optics went wide.

"_Prowl!"_

Warp vanished from TC's side, grabbed Prowl and Starscream, and brought them both back to TC. Jazz cursed as he and the Twins quickly lowered their weapons. Ironhide simply subspaced his plasma rifle and watched as TC and Warp clung to Prowl almost desperately. When Starscream tried to move back, Prowl grabbed his arm and pulled him into the mech pile. The observers could only hear a few faint words, murmurs of explanation and pleas for forgiveness before TC's voice got loud enough for them to hear clearly.

"You're hurt!"

Prowl smiled. "I'll live. I've suffered worse."

"Who hurt you?" Warp demanded. "I swear I'll string him up by his ankles!"

Starscream held up his hands, placating his irritated trine mates. "It's being taken care of." he said, casting a glance at Optimus. "We're on the Autobot base now. We can't keep taking matters into our own hands."

"Worked well enough for us so far." Warp snickered.

Prowl affectionately cuffed the back of his helm. "Yeah, and you got into trouble for it back then too." he pointed out.

Jazz stepped back to stand beside Optimus. "We can' separate them agin, sir." he said quietly. "It'll destroy Prowl."

Optimus nodded. "I know."

"Th' trine bonds will keep th' Seekers from betrayin' us." Jazz pointed out. "Ya know they won' hurt Prowler."

"I know this as well."

"But ya ain' gonna let them in."

Optimus tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Not until I find out what they're hiding." he said softly. "I know there's more to this than we're being told. I want to find out what."


	18. Chapter 18

**Academy**

The Academy was burning.

Air raids flew overhead, raining hot plasma down on unsuspecting students. Starscream supposed he had gotten lucky – he had pulled TC and Warp aside and managed to take shelter under the dorm awning. Others weren't so lucky. He could still hear the screams. Warp had his hands over his audios, trembling violently as he huddled against Starscream's legs. TC was pressed firmly against Starscream's side, one arm wrapped around his trine leader's waist while the other hand gripped Warp's shoulder tightly.

Starscream wished he could cover his own audios.

When the last of the air raids vanished, the Academy still burned. Starscream stayed where he was, keeping a tight hold on his trine mates. So far the flames seemed content to burn from a distance. Starscream could wait it out.

He was too scared to move.

What had changed?

"Lord Megatron!"

He flinched at the sudden voice. His helm snapped around, optics landing on a purple mech with a single glowing optic. "Who are you?" he demanded, wings flaring as he shifted his stance to better protect his trine. The single optic mech did not come any closer, but he did not leave either.

"My designation is Shockwave." he said simply. "I am Lord Megatron's second in command."

"What is it, Shockwave?"

"We have survivors." Shockwave motioned to the trine. The mech he was speaking to came into view, and Starscream found himself for the first time in the presence of the Decepticon commander. The ancient gladiator knelt in front of him, putting himself at optic-level with the younglings.

"Sweet Primus – so young." he murmured. "Are you three all right?"

Starscream nodded tightly. "We were here through the whole thing." he said, voice faint. He was beginning to shake. "What – what happened?"

Megatron and Shockwave exchanged looks. Starscream suspected they were communicating silently, wondering just how much to tell the small younglings. Finally, Megatron turned his gaze back to the trine. He offered them a small smile.

"I'm afraid our disputes have turned into a war." he said softly. "The Autobots strafed the Academy."

Warp slowly lowered his hands. "The Autobots did this?"

"By all accounts, we believe so." Megatron confirmed. "I'm sorry – I had hoped to get here sooner, but they took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting them to attack the Academy of all places. I'm so – "

"_They killed Prowl!"_

And then Warp burst into tears, sobs wracking his body as he curled in even tighter into himself. TC dropped to his knees and wrapped the smaller seeker in a tight embrace, releasing Starscream in the process. Starscream simply stood there, coolant tears tracking silently down his faceplates as the reality set in.

He had failed.

Megatron stood. "Take them to Hook. I want him to make sure they're operational." he ordered Shockwave. "We'll continue the search."

"Yes, Lord Megatron."

/-/

"Orion! Orion, Ah found one!"

Prowl was only vaguely aware of the voices at first. Then gentle hands lifted him from the rubble, accidentally jarring injuries old and new, and he was quite suddenly aware of everything. He cried out, and the gentle mech immediately pulled him closer, using his own body heat to ease the aches.

"Sh, now, everythin's gonna be all right. Ya'll see."

Another mech appeared beside the one holding Prowl. "Is he hurt?"

"Badly. We need th' Hatchet, Orion."

"I'll get him." Orion took off again. By now Prowl was able to online his optics. He found himself in the arms of a black and white visored mech. The mech smiled gently at him.

"'m Jazz. What's yer designation?"

He could barely force the word out. "Prowl."

"Well, lil Prowl, 'm gonna take real good care of ya. Yer wit me an' th' Hatchet now, an' there ain' no better mechs in the whole Autobot army." He made a show of crossing his spark. Prowl smiled faintly, but it quickly faded in the onslaught of memories and other thoughts.

"Who?"

Jazz flinched. "Not sure I'm th' one ta tell ya that."

"Please." Prowl reached up and grabbed his wrist. _"Please."_

Jazz nodded slowly. "Th' Decepticons did it. We don' know why. I'm sorry."

Prowl keened. "Star."

"Haven' found a mech called Star. He yer brother or yer friend?"

Before Prowl could answer, Orion reappeared with the mech Prowl already knew as Ratchet. Ratchet cursed when he saw Prowl. "Frag it! All right, Jazz – hold him still. This is going to hurt, and I don't have time to give him an anesthetic. Orion, get to base and comm. First Aid. Let him know I have a critical coming in." Orion nodded and once again vanished from sight.

Prowl let himself fade back into the welcoming darkness.

_Star._


	19. Chapter 19

**Fallen Angels**

**Part 9**

They stayed in the med bay were Optimus had confined them. Starscream was allowed to move within the base as long as he had Prowl to escort him. Skywarp and Thundercracker, however, were condemned to stay until Ratchet got tired of them and kicked them to the brig. For now, though, the three were content to stay where they were, curled up on the floor of the med bay with Prowl sleeping soundly between them. They spoke quietly so as not to wake their fourth.

"How long have you known?" Skywarp asked softly.

Starscream shrugged. "A while now. There was no proof at first." He sighed. "Shockwave knew the truth all along. I finally got the records from his computer systems. I've known about Prowl for far longer."

Thundercracker sighed. "Figures. That's when the datapad entries started."

"No wonder you were pissed." Warp whispered. "I mean – Prowl was alive this whole time, and he never tried to contact us?"

"Don't be too hard on him for that." Starscream warned. "Sentinel Prime survived the attacks. Prowl – what happened to him and Soundwave – it didn't stop. It never stopped. By the time Orion became Optimus Prime, it was too late. I didn't know the truth then, and I never would have believed him."

TC nodded. "True. So, what made you start looking?"

"I got tired of being mad and started thinking." Starscream said dryly. "Prowl was never one to just blindly follow. If he was an Autobot – especially with the way Sentinel was treating him – there had to be a slagging good reason why that was better than the Decepticons. So I started digging. I came up with the Academy." He shivered. TC and Warp pressed tighter against him, drawing Prowl more securely into their arms. Finally, he spoke again.

"Did you do as I asked?"

Warp nodded. "Yes. Soundwave should be finding the datapad by now."

Starscream nodded and sighed. "And it will spread from there. Maybe we can stop this lunacy yet."

"Do you really think Soundwave will do it?" TC asked.

"I hope so. He has the cassettes to consider, and Bluestreak still doesn't understand. No one knows they lied to us – they all think we did this of our own will." Starscream said softly.

Warp glowered. "It kind of was, but it wasn't with the right facts. Now that we know the truth, we aren't leaving." He looked down at Prowl, and his gaze softened. "He's ours, and we protect what's ours."

Starscream nodded. "That, Warp, is very true."

Outside of the med bay, Jazz listened in. A small frown crossed his faceplates. Never once did he suspect that Megatron had told the younglings that the Autobots had been responsible for the attack on the Academy. Coupled with the loss of a trine mate –

Well, grief made all mechs do stupid things.

As quietly has he had come, he disappeared back down the hall. If Soundwave was going to be the next one to turn, then maybe he'd be willing to talk to Jazz about what was going on.

/-/

Prowl stood before Optimus Prime. "You allow Starscream to wander the base freely." he pointed out. "Why not the trine?"

"Because the trine is far more dangerous than Starscream ever can be alone." Optimus said darkly. He looked up sharply as Prowl made a choking sound. "Prowl – _are you laughing?_"

"I'm sorry, sir." Prowl barely calmed himself enough to speak. "But Starscream _not dangerous_ without his trine – that hilarious to me, sir. This is the mech that was going to single handedly take on Sentinel Prime _when he was a youngling._ This is the mech that beat Hot Rod to a pulp with his own bare hands for trying to break my doorwings in the Academy – yes, that is why I don't get along with him. Sir, Starscream is no more dangerous with his trine than he is without."

Optimus simply stared at him for a moment. "More motivated, then?" he tried weakly. Prowl smiled. Optimus sighed. "Look, I know you don't like them being confined – "

"You think they're hiding something from you."

"Exactly."

"You're probably right. Starscream always did have second and third motivations for everything he did." Prowl clasped his hands behind his back. "You should know that he doesn't mean us harm."

"How do you know?"

"Because no matter how it may seem right now, I am loyal to the Autobots. That won't change."

Optimus met his optics then. "Were you loyal when you abandoned your post the night Sentinel Prime died?"

Prowl stiffened. "I was cleared of all charges."

"Only because Bluestreak provided you with an alibi."

"It was true. I logged off early to play a few games with Bluestreak. I thought my replacement had been made aware of the changes to the schedule." Prowl replied mildly.

Optimus's optics narrowed. "That replacement was _me_, Prowl."

"Oh." Prowl paused for a moment, considering. "Ratchet tells me you've been made aware of Sentinel's situation."

"Yes."

"And now you think I'm responsible for far more than just leaving my post early and neglecting to inform you. Now you wonder if maybe I haven't done something that got Sentinel killed."

"Don't mock me, Prowl."

"I'm not, sir. I'm simply stating facts."

Optimus glared at him. "Did you?"

"No."

"Perhaps I should open up a new investigation."

Prowl merely shook his head. "If you feel it necessary, sir."

Optimus nodded. "Perhaps I do. You're dismissed, Prowl." Prowl nodded and walked out of Prime's office.

A voice stopped him.

"That was you?"

Starscream spoke so softly, Prowl almost didn't hear him. He paused, but didn't respond. Instead he stared straight ahead. Starscream sighed. "Come on. Warp's been asking about you."

Prowl allowed himself to be led back to the med bay.


	20. Chapter 20

**Fallen Angels**

**War Time**

Jazz made sure to keep close to the new youngling while he was in the med bay.

There were others of course – they found as many survivors as they could, but Megatron had been there as well, using the tragedy as a recruiting opportunity. The slagger. The number of younglings was much smaller than Sentinel Prime would have preferred. Out of all of them Jazz stuck close to the ones he himself had found; Prowl, Bluestreak, and Hot Rod were among those and the only ones still stuck in the med bay.

Hot Rod was a loud, boisterous mech that enjoyed taunting the other two younglings, especially Prowl. Jazz didn't like him. He didn't like the way he mocked the injured doorwinger, or the way Prowl simply shuttered his optics and ignored him with such ease.

He didn't like the coolant tears that came every morning when he came out of recharge.

He watched the younglings as Ratchet put away his tools. "How are they?"

Ratchet grunted. "Hot Rod's been cleared for release – maybe he can keep those blasted Twins from harassing their caretaker all the time. Bluestreak can be cleared at the end of the week; his injuries were minor. I'll be keeping Prowl here for the duration."

Jazz tilted his helm. "Ah noticed he's scared o' some of th' older mechs."

Ratchet snorted. "He's scared of Sentinel. I can't let him out when I'm not sure if he's going to bolt or attack the mech."

"Tha' would be an interestin' sight." Jazz chuckled. He abruptly grew serious. "He keeps askin' me questions, Ratch. 'm not sure I like 'em."

"Questions?"

"Like if 'm sure th' Cons were responsible fer the attack."

Ratchet hesitated a moment. "He doesn't ask anyone else these questions?"

"Nah. Just meh."

"He trusts that you won't lie to him, then."

Jazz vented in exasperation. "Yeah, okay, but it's like he don' wanna be here, ya know? Aside from mahself and Bluestreak, he don' talk to anyone either."

"He talks to Orion."

"That's cuz Orion's an easy mech ta talk ta." Jazz shook his helm. "'m worried bout him, Ratch."

"I know, Jazz." Ratchet turned away from his tools and focused on little Prowl himself. "I just – I know something of his situation before the attack. He has his reasons for being a little withdrawn. Maybe you can help him come out of his shell."

Maybe Jazz could figure out the truth for himself. Being the medic (and with Sentinel's screwed-up laws) Ratchet couldn't do anything that would get Sentinel Prime deposed. Jazz, being the third in command and head of Special Ops, could. If Jazz for one second suspected that Sentinel was hurting younglings, no force on Cybertron could stop him.

Jazz continued to watch Prowl, unaware of Ratchet's turmoil.

"Maybe Ah can."

/-/

The trine stuck close to the command center for the longest time – until the search of the Academy had been called off. Starscream had struck a bargain with some of the other younglings now residing on the Decepticon base – if he heard anything about their friends, he would let them know.

Prowl was stuck in his processor. He just simply couldn't believe that the shy doorwinger was dead. Maybe he had already been picked up by the Autobots. Maybe he was being held for interrogation by Sentinel Prime. There were too many possibilities and not enough clues. So he stuck close to the command center, TC and Warp never far away from him, and every day he came back to the youngling barracks with more bad news for the others.

Dirge's friend Twister was definitely dead. Starscream had seen the video of the corpse being removed. There was still no word on Bluestreak, and every day that went without news was another day Soundwave spoke less and less. His speech impediment became more pronounced as the time went on. There was also no word on Bumblebee, the little yellow mech that had always hung around with Thrust and Ramjet. The conehead trine became more withdrawn and belligerent, picking fights with the other younglings whenever they could.

They tried picking a fight with Warp but the younger seeker knocked them flat. Then TC and Starscream showed up. They left them alone after that.

Megatron kept a close optic on the younger trine. He didn't like them being in his command center all the time, although they were careful to keep out of his way. He couldn't just kick them out. Every commander there knew exactly what the younglings were after, and they took careful steps to make sure they only got two answers –

Dead or missing.

Let them think the Autobots were the most dangerous things out there. Let them think they had destroyed their friends and possibly their family. It would make them all the more dangerous later.

Megatron stood before the younglings now, announcing the end of the search of the Academy. "Now, the decision is yours. Do you join us, or leave now and take your chances outside?"

There was a brief pause. Starscream and his trine were the first to step forward. There were no coolant tears. There was only anger and hate.

"We will join the Decepticons, and make sure the Autobots pay for what they have done." Starscream hissed.

Megatron grinned. Exactly as planned.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **So many people are watching this story! I don't know if I can meet everyone's expectations. I'm going to go hide now.

**Fallen Angels**

**Part 10**

**Nemesis**

Soundwave walked slowly, listening to see if someone was following him. Making his way into the Command Center he sat down at his consol. The room was empty and Ramjet was preoccupied with polishing his frame rather than watching the cameras thanks to a gentle telekinetic shove from the Decepticon TiC. Bringing up the specified file Thundercracker had indicate in his data pad he finds himself unsurprised at the passcode lock.

It takes him all of five earth seconds to break it. "Shockwave's Intellect: Inferior." He mutters, the ghost of a smile in his words. He quickly scans the written report and his optics narrow and brighten behind his visor. Clicking on the video file he unconsciously folds his servos into fists. Sweeping the area with his mind he senses the approach of Thrust, coming to take up the graveyard shift. Quickly Soundwave inputs a command into the main video feed throughout the various public monitors and shuts the file.

"Soundwave? What are you doing here?" Thrust asks as he comes in, one optic ridge raised in curiosity.

"Soundwave: Noticed you were absent. Decided to take over shift until you arrived." Soundwave walks up to Thrust and with more speed then the red conehead thought the cassette player possessed sticks his servo on the unsuspecting mech's helm. A quick surge of energy wipes his memory core of the chance meeting with the Third in Command. As the red cone head drops to the floor Soundwave looks to the door.

Moving quickly Soundwave makes his way back into the hall, leaving Thrust to reboot. He makes his way quietly to the Control Room and enters the bypass code. As the door slides open Ramjet looks up with a frown. "What are you doing here? My shift doesn't end for another joor and Octane is supposed to take over then. Did something happen to the idiot?"

Soundwave moves into the room smoothly, keeping his gaze away from the white cone head. As he enters the range of his reach he slams his servo into Ramjet's face plates, wiping his memory as well. Wasting no time he hacks into the cameras and cuts out the segment that revealed him at the computer systems. Megatron would never know.

~Next Day~

All the Decepticons were now either located in the Rec Room, Command Center, Mess Hall, or in the case of one Constructicon and two cone heads who had splitting processor aches. The stage was set. "You're awful silent today." Rumble says, flopping across Soundwave's waist. "Usually you say at least four lines in a joor but you've barely said one."

.:He's waiting for something obviously:. Ravage replies for him in comm. speech. Just then the screens flicker to life and Soundwave turns his helm slightly to look at Megatron who had looked up to see the disturbance.

Shockwave's visage appears on screen. "Lord Megatron, our seekers are in place. We now await your order to commence bombing." All optics in the Mess Hall were trained upwards. Megatron looked like he was about to shoot the screen.

"Permission granted Shockwave, it's time we started this war. Make sure to miss a few areas so we can snatch some younglings as troops." The hall was filled with dead silence as Shockwave gave an affirmative. Megatron didn't wait a moment longer and fired into the screen with a roar.

"Whoever had the bright idea to play this pathetic excuse for a joke will step forward this instant!" He shouts into the crowd.

"Inquiry: This footage is a farce?" Soundwave asks in his flat tone, only his cassettes picking up on the meaning behind his words.

"Clearly it is, I would never order the destruction of an Academy." As Megatron finished Dirge, the only cone head in the room, stands up.

"I was paying close attention to that tape. Not once was the Academy mentioned!" He jabs an accusatory digit in his direction. "I had good friends there! It's because of you that they're dead!"

As one the Stunticons stand up, faceplates dark. Without a word they leave, several mechs following suit. Dirge had a difficult scowl on his face plates as he looked up at Megatron with scorn. A single tear fell from his optics. "I hope you burn in the Pit for what you did to Twister." Before Megatron could react Dirge turns and walks stiffly out of the room.

"Soundwave, call the rest of the soldiers and order an attack on these deserters." Megatron orders. Wordlessly the cassettes transform and load into his chest compartment. Slowly the tape recorder rises to his peds, visor dark.

"Query: Are you so ignorant that you no longer know who you inducted into your ranks back then? Statement: You truly are the fool Starscream makes you out to be." Taking the nearest exit he leaves calmly. As soon as he pulls out of sight he breaks into a run. Megatron wouldn't take long to come after him and try to offline him for insubordination and insults. The only reason Starscream managed to stay online this long was because Megatron was attracted to him. Soundwave had no such protection.

The other deserters had gotten the same idea and were running as one group out of the Nemesis. The still loyal Decepticons followed in hot pursuit, firing at the retreating figures. There were still more Decepticon loyalists then deserters and there was no possible way they could defend themselves. Their only hope were the Autobots.

As the deserters finally crossed into Autobot territory the other cons pulled back. Soundwave wordlessly racks up the damage. Dead End was supporting a heavily limping Wild Rider who's left leg was hanging loosely. Dirge was missing a wing. Brawl's arm was ripped clean off. Soundwave himself was covered in scorched and broken plating.

At one point the cassettes had popped out to lighten their carrier's burden. Ravage's rear leg had been skimmed by a lucky shot and the wound leaked a little. Buzzsaw was flopped across Ravage's back, having been hit by a lucky shot shortly after passing into the Autobot territory. Frenzy and Rumble leaned against each other for support. Lazerbeak, the only cassette to escape damage sat perched on Soundwave's canon.

The deserters all turn towards Soundwave, looking for guidance. "First Order: Journey to the Ark." Silently and without question they turn and start moving as one.

**Ark**

Skywarp was scratching at his chest plates again. "Would you stop doing that? I can't hear myself think." Starscream says irately.

"Well I can't hear myself think every time you open your mouth to complain." Ratchet calls from his office. The medic leans out and stares at the black and purple seeker. "Perhaps there is something wrong." He seems to mutter to himself.

"Skywarp, quit scratching yourself." The medic orders. The black seeker frowns but places his servos on the berth he was sitting on. Five klicks later his digits started twitching and he reached to scratch his chest plates again. The medic frowns and motions to the other seekers to leave. "Prowl, come and pick up your charge plus one."

Starscream and Thundercracker get shoved out unceremoniously into the hall and a moment later Prowl and Optimus rounded the corner. The slightest smile appears on Prowl's face plates. The groups stands there silently, waiting for one of them to speak. Just as Starscream opened his mouth Red Alert skids around the corner from the direction of the Control Room.

"Optimus! Several Decepticons heading this way!" He spouts, voice heavy with panic but not the kind you'd associate from a sneak attack. "Some are heavily damaged."

"Who's leading them?" Starscream and Optimus say at the same time.

"Soundwave."


	22. Chapter 22

**Fallen Angels**

**War Time**

It might have been a battle simulation but Starscream was taking this seriously, ripping through the drones with malice. Megatron permitted a wicked grin to spread across his faceplates as he watched. Starscream was a very promising soldier indeed. The small seeker's optics were hardened into a glare and his faceplates set in a sneer as he ripped the Autobot insignias off of the drone's metal chassis.

As Starscream flitted over the simulated battlefield he repeated a line over and over. "I promise to kill every last Autobot." Inside his helm only one name rolled around continuously. This was for Prowl, all for Prowl. The Autobots would rue the day they bombed the academy.

The simulation ended and Starscream whirled around to face the clapping Megatron. "Well done Starscream, well done indeed." The seeker's optics didn't lose their glare as the war lord approached.

"Again. Put the simulator back on, I wasn't finished."

"So eager, I like that. I'll tell you what; you seem so keen that I've decided to let you lead a raid on those evil Autobots. But that's only if you leave to recharge right now." The red seeker stalks up, looking about ready to explode. Out of the corner of his optics he spots Thundercracker standing protectively in front of Skywarp who was cringing behind the bigger seeker, as if he were hiding.

Starscream looks back up and his faceplates twitch. "Then I'll see you in the orn." He stalks off, noticing as his trine mates stepped away.

~Next Orn~

"Your orders are simple; you will lead a charge on this sector while a second group comes in to steal energon." Shockwave says to the smallest seeker they had picked up. The red seeker ignores the Cyclops as he peers at the map, moving a few points.

"Where is the area with the most Autobots?" Starscream asks quietly. Wordlessly the larger purple mech indicates an area not too far from where the initial attack was supposed to go down.

Streaking through the skies the red seeker throws himself down into the Autobots before letting the others catch up. He lands lightly on his peds and released a roundhouse kick into the chest plates of an unsuspecting mech. As the mech falls away the red seeker locks his angry optics with cold blue ones hidden behind a visor.

"Ya want it you little piece of scrap? Well come an get it!" Starscream flies across the open space to charge right into Jazz. Breaking away as soon as he touched him Starscream pivots around to launch a smattering of kicks and shots which the older mech dodged quite well for an older bot.

.:Starscream, we're calling a retreat. There's too many and we have what we need:. Shockwave calls to the vehement seeker.

"No! I won't be a liar! I swore I would protect him!" He shouts through the comm. link, startling the spy bot he was still sparing with.

.:Starscream: Retreat. Revenge: Will be achieved later in time:. The red seeker slows down and stumbles backwards at Soundwave's words. With a loud growl Starscream ducks and a mech flies over him, his attempts to catch the smallest seeker turning much less then fruitful as said seeker blasted his null rays into the mech at full power, extinguishing his spark.

Surging upwards into the now smoke filled sky he transforms and heads back, catching the tail end of the retreat. The younger troops split to the sides quickly, afraid of what they had seen of the seeker on the battlefield. The veterans dipped closer to him, trying to engage in conversation. The red seeker stubbornly ignored them and when all the troops landed at the base Starscream tried to ignore the grinning war lord who stood in front of him.

"Starscream, Shockwave informs me you were quite the fighter on the battle field. Kill any of those Autobot pests?" Starscream narrows his optics.

"Only one, I was preoccupied otherwise."

"Ah yes, Jazz, their special ops spy bot. Not many can match him blow for blow. And killing one of them in your first fight is just the first step. Meet me in my quarters later, I do so wish to celebrate." The war lord turns to his other troops, dismissing Starscream by turning his back.

Starscream walks back silently, not sparing a glance for anyone he passed. Once securely locked away in his quarters he reaches into his subspace and pulls out several pictures. He slumps against the wall as he comes to his favorite one, he had stolen it from Skywarp who had taken it when neither Starscream nor Prowl had been looking. Starscream draws a purple-stained blue servo across the picture of him and Prowl sharing a private kiss.

Gently he brings it to his lips and kisses it lightly then holds it as close as possible. "I miss you Prowl." He mutters quietly, feeling diluted energon start to streak his face plates. He stayed there until the call to join Megatron was sent over the comm. links. Washing his faceplates off he quietly replaces the pictures and drags himself off.

**A/N:** I apologize for doing Decepticons more than Autobots but I connect with them best. That, and I'm not super familiar with a majority of the bots like I am with the cons.


End file.
